Moonlit Skies
by TeamCarlisle
Summary: The 4th story in my series (Miracle of the Lunar Eclipse, Under the Crimson Moon, After the Equinox).. Tensions rise with the Volturi after the decisions of a few family members. More babies? Maybe... hope everyone enjoys reading.. Still revolves around Carlisle/Esme... There may be some "M" moments but it will be mostly rated "T"
1. Sunrise

**Chapter 1**

Carlisle and Esme sat together on a blanket at one of the highest points in Washington overlooking the ocean as the sun slowly sunk below the water's edge in the distance. A collage of pink and orange made way to the dark blues and purples that had begun to take over the earliest part of the night sky. It was calm and quiet with only the occasional scutter of a small animal making it's way home in the open forest behind them.

Carlisle sat behind Esme with his arms wrapped around her and his chin on her shoulder. She leaned into him and kept her fingers locked with his in both of her hands. His legs were on either side of hers and he gently rubbed her calf with his foot.

Esme purposely let in deep breaths, taking in everything about their surroundings, which were highlighted by the scent of her loving, protective husband. Her eyes closed for a moment and reopened as his lips pressed against the side of her face before he rested his chin back on her shoulder. She felt his hand gently stroke her hair a few times before he dropped his arm back down and rejoined his fingers with hers.

"It's so beautiful," Esme commented. Her eyes drifted along the horizon, "I wish we had a camera."

"Not as beautiful as you," Carlisle whispered in her ear.

She smiled and felt him hold her a little tighter. Another sigh left her mouth as the two of them stared out at the sunset that turned the lights out on the small town they called home.

"I love you," he told her, running the lengths of her arms with his fingers.

Esme turned halfway to meet his eyes, "I love you, too."

Carlisle leaned his face in toward hers and gave her a kiss. She turned back around and he continued to show his affection by pulling the top of her shirt to the side and to kiss the top of her shoulder.

Esme smiled and scrunched up as he did the same along her neck and ended just below her earlobe.

He laughed to himself at her reaction and separated himself from her to lay on his back.

Esme quickly joined him, disappointed from their brief moment of no contact. She rested her head on his chest and draped an arm over him, looking up at the starry sky.

Their legs intertwined and Carlisle gently stroked her hair, then her back and the top part of her arm that he could reach from the position they laid in.

Neither of them moved much over the course of a few hours. They enjoyed the privacy of the night up on the cliffs of Forks that protected them from the rest of the world. From there, they could watch the sun set in peace, letting the energy of the sun's rays decorate their beautiful, inhuman skin. It was something they hadn't done in awhile. In darkness, they could now share each other's company in a type of intmacy that didn't exist in many couples.

Esme loved being alone with Carlisle. The two of them enjoyed each other's company through the remainder of the night; talking, laughing and at times relying on the silence that accompanied nature to speak for them. It was the little touches and soft kisses that added to the intimacy of the evening without their physical level progressing to anything more. They had a bond like no two other people and truly could identify one another on a level that was indescribeable.

Carlisle leaned forward and rested his lips on Esme's forehead for a moment before laying his head back down flat. She smiled and propped herself up on an elbow in the center of his chest. He returned the smile as she leaned down and kissed him once.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him, now taking her turn at running a hand through his thick, wind tossed hair.

His hand drifted to the side of her face and it rested gently there as he spoke, "I'm thinking I don't want the sun to come up. I want this night to last forever."

Esme smiled and kissed him again. She looked over her shoulder toward the horizon where the first glow of the morning sun began to emerge. The land was still dark, though daylight was making itself known.

Carlisle still held his hand on the curve of her face, "Will you still have me forever?"

Esme turned back around and laughed, "Is there some doubt lingering in your voice?" she teased.

"No," he said with a smile.

"Well aren't we a little arrogant," she continued to tease.

"Not arrogant," he disagreed, "Just... trusting."

Esme put her hand over his on the side of her face.

"Do I have a reason to think otherwise?"

"I'm yours forever," she assured him, still smiling, as she brought her face down closer to his, "If you'll have me."

Carlisle brought her down the rest of the way and gave a long lasting more passionate kiss, though kept the movements of his mouth slow and non-aggressive.

Esme eventually broke the kiss, "You didn't answer my question."

Carlisle stared up at her ear to ear grin, "I didn't know you asked one."

"Will you have me? Forever."

"Oh, so you're turning the tables on me now?" His smiling eyes matched his perfect teeth that stood out in the darkness.

"I am." Her voice was teasing and playful, though he knew she wanted an answer.

"I'll have you forever... and ever," he paused, "And ever."

Esme reignited their kiss that seemed to last a lifetime before she cuddled back onto the comfort of his chest. The two of them laid together in each other's arms and watched the sun rise over Forks.


	2. Unopened Letter

**hey all.. thanks a lot for continuing to read my series... i hope you end up liking the one i'm in progress of writing. i appreciate all the feedback as well... :)**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Alexandra looked out the window from upstairs, recognizing her mother's laughter as her parents emerged from the edge of the woods. Carlisle carried Esme securely on his back and her arms draped around his neck before he set her down easily onto the grass as they entered the back yard. Immediately, he linked his hand back up with hers and whispered something to her that caused another laugh to echo through the morning air and the two of them shared a couple of quick kisses before lazily making their way back up toward the house. She smiled to herself, enjoying the happiness that radiated out of both of them.

Michael quickly scooted up to Alexandra's side and placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile, "Hey," he said with a grin.

"Hey," she said back, putting a head on his shoulder.

"They're happy," he told her, nodding in the direction of her parents, who had yet to reach the back porch.

"Yeah," Alexandra agreed, "They deserve to be after all they went through in the past couple of years." She looked down toward an envelope she held in her hand and fiddled with it enough to catch Michael's attention.

"What's that?" he asked, tilting it upward slightly. He read Alexandra's name across the front and noticed the envelope was opened across the top in a ragged, diagonal tear.

Alexandra looked down, "Nothing," she shook her head, "It's just something I have to ask my dad about."

Michael looked a little concerned, recognizing the slight edge in her voice. When she smiled at him, he felt a little reassured and decided not to pry too much.

"I'll talk to you about it when we're alone," she said, lowering her voice.

He nodded and leaned in to kiss her forehead, then nudged her with his elbow. She nudged him back then took him by the hand to go greet her parents.

Alice had already cornered Esme, asking her to get details for Masen and Leah's wedding, who were yet to even set a date.

"They said this summer," Alice's voice came from the kitchen. She then spoke to herself, "I'll have to get Leah to myself one of these days." She placed her knuckles over her mouth and stared into space as if she were devising up a plan on how to do that.

Jasper came out of nowhere and joined up with her at the hip, "Leave them be," he teased her, tapping her lightly on the nose with his pointer finger, "They have their hands full with the little one over there. Masen's lucky he doesn't have to sleep. I can hear her crying for miles."

"She is loud," Alice agreed with a grin, "Seems to be aging slightly less than Renesme but faster than a human child would."

"She's still a baby," Esme said with a smile, "And she's almost two months old."

Carlisle wrapped an arm around her shoulders again, then turned as Alexandra and Michael eased their way into the room.

"Dad," Alexandra said with a closed mouth smile, "Can I talk to you?" Her hands were behind her back and she leaned forward on her toes.

His body stiffened slightly and he looked to Esme before he pulled away and walked across the room to their daughter, "Of course. What's going on?"

Alexandra looked around the room at everyone's wondering eyes, "Upstairs," she said to him.

Carlisle nodded and let her lead him up toward his office. She closed the door behind him as he walked in, though she knew it wouldn't do much good to hide their conversation.

"What's going on Alex?" he asked again. His eyebrows creased in the middle of his forehead.

"Um, well," she removed her hands from behind her back and held up the torn envelope with her name on it, "I just wanted to ask you about this."

Carlisle's memory immediately jogged back to the first time their family was forced to encounter Olivia and her army. A replay of events washed through his mind, ending with Esme crying on top of the cliff on Isle Esme. His shoulders slumped slightly at the thought, then he let his mind drift toward the first time he held baby Alexandra in his arms.

"That..." he shook his head and placed a hand at his hairline, "I wrote that before you were born in case..."

"Was this before the fight at Lake Superior?"

Carlisle snapped his head up, "Yes." He figured it was probably Masen or Michael that gave her the details about that event because he and Esme kept those details short and sweet with their daughter.

"Did you read that?" Alexandra nodded, "I'm sorry. I was bored looking for something to read and I went through a couple of the desk drawers."

He smiled and snickered, referring his eyes to a half open drawer that was pulled open.

"And I read Mom's too," then added, "It was already open. I didn't read Masen's, and I'm guessing he didn't either from the fact that it's still sealed."

"I probably should have gotten rid of them," Carlisle said, "I don't want to bring up any bad memories, or create any unnecessary worry for you. I'd hoped none of you would have to read them."

"So, why'd you save them?"

Carlisle looked around the room before shaking his head, "I don't know."

"So what happened with all of that?" she asked him.

He looked down, "You don't have to get into the details of it. We're here now and fine, that's all that matters."

"Why'd you let mom go down to the island alone?"

Carlisle's eyes softened and again, he was drawn the day he pulled out of the driveway after kissing Esme goodbye, giving her a reassuring wink as he left, though at the time, not believing the calmness of his own gesture. "She wasn't alone," he told Alexandra, "She was with Rosalie. And Maddy and William."

"Yeah, I know," Alexandra continued, "But how come you didn't go with her?"

He recognized the seriousness in her eyes and sighed, "Your mother was pregnant with you at the time. She needed to stay out of harms way and I knew she'd be safe there. Masen, because of his gifts, went with us all on the fight against Olivia. I couldn't let him fight without me there to make sure he was okay. It was the hardest decision of my life, but I knew Mom would be safe on the island with Rosalie, and that she could deliver the baby in case I wasn't there in time. It wasn't fair to her, but it also wouldn't have been fair to Masen."

Alexandra saw the painful expression in his eyes that were now far away, reliving the experience, "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to bring this up. I just read the letter and-"

"You have ever right to ask," he told her, "And, like I told Mom, I'm sorry that you even had to read it."

She decided to ask about the lighter side of the subject; something that was happier, "So," she smiled, "How long was it before you met me? After I was born, that is."

Carlisle smiled and thought for a second, "It couldn't have been longer than a day." His eyes squinted as he thought and he smiled again, "The first time I held you, you kept squeezing my thumbs. It was the same night Masen proposed to Leah."

"Really?" she asked with a grin.

He nodded, "Yeah. Things worked out fine after that big mess. If it weren't for Michael, it could have been a lot worse."

Alexandra smiled wider, "Is that why you let him take me out in the first place?"

"That... and I do trust that he's got a good heart."

She nodded, not wanting to talk too much about boys with her father, "Did Mom think you were dead?"

"You're very inquisitive today," Carlisle said, raising his eyebrows.

Alexandra smiled, "I get it from my Dad. I want to know as much as possible."

He laughed then held out his arms to give her a hug and kissed the top of her head as she hugged him back.

"I'll quit while I'm ahead," she told him, "I love you Dad. I'm sorry for all you and Mom and the others have had to go through."

"We're fine," he assured her, "And I love you too."

Alexandra held the envelope out in front of her, "Here."

Carlisle took it back from her, "What should I do with it?"

"Don't burn it," she said with a smile and left the office.

Carlisle stood with the letter in his hand and stared down at the half open drawer.

"What's that?" Esme asked him, as she entered after a brief chat with Alexandra in the hallway.

He shook his head, "Nothing."

She put her hands on her hips and stared at him until he broke down with a snicker and turned the envelope so she could see the writing across the front of it.

"Ohhh..." Esme said, letting the word drag on as she spoke.

"You see," he said, "I should have stuck with nothing."

She sighed and rested her hand on the side of the open door.

"Don't be sad on me now," he said, knowing she was most likely going down the same mental path he had moments before.

Esme smiled at him, "I'm not sad."

Carlisle raised his eyebrows with a closed mouth smile.

"I'm not," she laughed, "It's just a bittersweet memory, that's all. But the good thing is the sweet part came last, so all in all it was a good memory; a happy ending."

He nodded and put the envelope back into the drawer and closed it.

"Did Alex ask about it?"

Carlisle nodded again, "Yeah. She read it."

Esme's facial expression was suddenly curious, "What does it say?"

He shook his head, "Don't read it now."

"Save it for a day when I'm in a crying kind of mood?" she asked with a hint of laughter.

"Yeah," he said, grinning, though trying to hide back his own emotions.

"Okay," she agreed.

His eyes shifted toward the picture of him with the Volturi and Esme quickly darted across the room to break his gaze so it fixed on her. She gently put her hands on either side of his face and looked him directly in the eyes, "Don't let your mind wander."

Carlisle placed his hands over hers and took them into his own, then smiled and brought his lips to hers, "Provide me with a distraction."

Esme laughed and continued to kiss him, "You need to go to work doctor."

He looked over her shoulder at one of the several clocks in the room, "What horrible timing."

"Mmm-hmm," she agreed and kissed him again.

Carlisle tilted her chin toward his and kissed her once more, "Sunset to sunrise again?"

"Sunrise, definitely," she said with a smile, "But we're babysitting until around nine tonight, so we might miss the sunset."

"Babysitting, huh?"

"Masen and Leah are taking Charlie and Sue out. It's their first time away from Cassandra."

He smiled, "Well, I guess that's acceptable substitute."

"Will you accompany me for the remainder of the evening?" she asked with a smile, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Of course," Carlisle told her. He kissed her a few more times, then went to get ready for work.


	3. Curiosity

**Chapter 3**

Esme kissed Masen and Leah on the cheek as they bid a extra long farewell to Cassandra. She reached for them a few times with her tiny hands, making it harder for both of them, especially Leah, to leave.

"We'll be back in a couple hours," Masen told her, using his hands to bob hers up and down. He kissed her forehead and Leah decorated both of her cheeks with kisses before they made their way out the open front door.

"It's starting to rain," Esme told them, "Do you need an umbrella?"

"Got one in the car," Masen told her, "Thanks Mom. We'll manage from here to there."

"Thanks for taking her tonight," Leah said for what seemed the one hundredth time.

"It's no problem."

"Tell Dad thanks too," Masen added, "Was hoping to catch him before we left."

"He'll be here when you guys get back," she said, "Have fun with your mother and Charlie." She looked down at Cassandra, "Say bye bye for now."

"Bye bye," Masen and Leah said to their daughter before jogging down toward the car.

Esme waved as their headlights went on and then closed the door as their car traveled around the bend of the driveway and out of sight. She made her way to the couch with Cassandra and put on the television, flipping through until she found something decent.

On the floor next to the couch was a small pink and white baby bag filled with supplies. Cassandra took in a deep breath and rested in Esme's arms, falling asleep no more than ten minutes later.

Emmett and Rosalie snuck in quietly to say their hellos and quick goodbyes as the two of them left to see a movie, about to meet Edward and Bella there who were out shopping from earlier in the day.

Esme sighed happily and kept the volume at a low level as she enjoyed the quiet in the nearly empty home. She heard Alexandra and Alice chatting somewhere else in the house and had overheard Jasper and Michael talking about going out for a hunt not long before.

Cassandra's breathing made Esme smile. She looked peaceful, happy away in her dreamland with her fingers curled up in the palms of her hands.

"Watching sappy love movies Mama?" Alice asked, emerging into the room and disappearing just as fast.

Esme looked up at the television and laughed quietly, "I wasn't really paying attention."

"Sure, sure," her voice called back from down the hall. Alexandra's laughter accompanied it and the two of them continued to giggle at something else.

Esme slowly stood up, keeping Cassandra laying flat on her chest and went up to Carlisle's office. She carefully bent down to the drawer he'd placed Alexandra's letter in and removed it from the drawer, along with her own. Masen's she chose to keep as it was, sensing there might be a reason why it was never opened.

She made her way back to the couch, all the while keeping her granddaughter secure and asleep in her arms.

Esme parted the top of the envelope with her daughter's name on the front and removed the single folded paper that was tucked away neatly inside. With a sigh, she unfolded it and read the letter to herself, looking once over her shoulder as she began.

_Alexandra,_

_One day, you will be old enough to understand this letter. I wish we could have had at least one day together so I could at least write down a few cherished memories. Unfortunately, if you're reading this, that day never came, but just know that even before you were born, I loved you unconditionally. You and Masen were the two most amazing gifts that were ever given to your mother and I. I hope as you progress through life, that you take important lessons with you, realize the importance of love and above all else, always listen to your mother and never give her a hard time. _

Esme laughed to herself at the line, though tears developed in the corners of her eyes. She continued reading.

_When you're old enough, Mom will tell you the stories of our family and how we came to be what we are now. It's important to know the origins of your family and I hope your brothers and sisters will all give you something that sticks with you. I know they will. I was suppose to be there at your birth to welcome you into the world, but I had to protect our family and fight to keep us safe. Again, your mother can some day elaborate on that if she feels the need to. I hope you live a long, happy and healthy life. Never turn your back on your family, and never leave Mom alone if she's in need of your company. Don't ever settle for less than what you deserve, and just know that if I were here, I would protect you with every ounce of fatherly love that I possess. That's what I'm about to do, as I've written this letter. Please forgive me for not getting the chance to meet you, though I hope you can know somewhere in your heart that, even though I'm not here, I love you. I've always loved you - long before you were born._

_Be happy and love others unconditionally, as I have done for you, your mother and the rest of the family,_

_Dad_

Esme sighed, as one tear escaped her eye and dropped onto the piece of paper. She folded it back up and placed it in the envelope, noticing that there was also a picture of her and Carlisle from years back that had apparently gone with the letter. She removed it and stared at the happy look on both of their faces in the photograph, each looking at each other rather than the camera in a candid shot that she assumed was taken by Alice at some point in time.

His eyes and smile mirrored hers and from the natural pose of their bodies, it was clear that she could see no one but Carlisle in the room, and he saw no one but her. Esme ran a hand along the photograph before placing it back in with the letter.

Cassandra stirred and turned her head from facing outward, to facing Esme, keeping her eyes closed the entire time. A few second later, her breathing regained it's steady beat. One of her tiny hands clutched onto the top of Esme's shirt and her mouth hung open.

Esme smiled and played with the back of Cassandra's hand, drying her eyes of a few tears that managed to drop from her eyes. She sighed and debated about re-reading the letter Carlisle had written her. A part of her wanted to now that she could comprehend it in a different way, though she knew if she did that her emotions would win out on the battle. The last thing she wanted was for Carlisle, Alice or Alexandra to find her in a whirlwind of tears for no reason.

She sighed and decided, for the time being, not to go down that road. She refocused her attention to Cassandra.

Moments later, Carlisle opened the front door and began speaking aloud to himself about how the rain picked up, then abruptly noticed the sleeping baby in Esme's arms and stopped speaking. He removed his shoes and jacket, then kissed his wife and looked down at Cassandra, who hadn't stirred from his entrance.

"Sorry," he whispered with a smile, looking at Esme.

"It's okay," she whispered back.

He motioned that he was going upstairs to change and disappeared momentarily before joining back up with her on the couch. She played with a droplet of water that trickled down his ear, a gift leftover from the rain, then kissed him on the cheek.

Carlisle smiled and lifted his hips to remove the envelopes he'd sat on.

Esme smiled at him with a guilty expression.

He laughed, "You read Alex's?" he whispered.

She nodded, still giving him a look of guilt.

Carilsle shook his head and put an arm around her, kissing her temple, "I don't know why you do this to yourself."

"Neither do I," she confessed with a lighthearted laugh.

He stroked her hair, "Why'd you read yours again?"

"I didn't," she said, "I was thinking about it."

Carlisle looked her in the eyes and held up the envelopes, "We should get rid of these."

Esme shook her head, "No."

"Why?"

"I just... I don't know, for some reason I don't want to."

He continued to look at her deep in the eyes before agreeing, "Okay."

Esme sighed and kissed him, then handed over Cassandra as he was asking for her with a quick wave of his hands.

Carlisle propped her up onto his chest, and like Esme, she clung to the fabric of his casual, navy blue thermal shirt that hugged his upper body tightly over loose fitted sweatpants. "Want to grab the blanket?" he asked.

Esme nodded and quickly went to the other couch to retrieve a blue and white fleece cover that she threw over the two of them and Cassandra.

Carlisle's hand laid protectively around her head and the other secured her tiny body to his.

Esme leaned up against him, then kissed their granddaughter on the cheek. "I don't want to lose you, Carlisle."

He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since re-entering the room. A smile spread over his face, "You're not going to. That's why I didn't want you to read the letter."

"I know," she agreed, "Now I'm in one of those moods." A loud sigh escaped her nose and mouth.

"Come here." He took his hand off the back of Cassandra's head and cuddled her just as close, "No more bad memories. I love you. We're here now."

"I know," she said again.

He recognized the lingering hint of pain in her face, "Close your eyes."

Esme couldn't help but smile and did as he asked. Carlisle proceeded to kiss each of her eyelids, then her nose, "Open them."

She opened her eyes back up and met his before his pressed shut and pushed his lips to hers, leaving himself there for a few extra seconds before pulling away.

Esme sighed again, this time for a different reason.

Carlisle tilted her chin upward, "Don't be sad."

"You're making it impossible right now," she told him.

He grinned, "Good. That was my plan."

"Can I have one more?"

"Just one?" he asked.

Esme laughed, "Or as many as you're giving out tonight."

"Here's the first of many," Carlisle told her, still smiling. He cupped her face with his free hand and parted his lips just slightly as he kissed her.

Alice cleared her throat, entering the room to break their moment. "Oh, I don't care, I just didn't want you to gross out Alex."

Alexandra wasn't far behind her sister who shrugged and shook her head.

"Oh, whoops," Alice said, changing her voice to a whisper, "I forgot about the little one."

"Can I hold her?" Alexandra asked.

"Sure," Carlisle said, this time waking her up in the process of the handoff.

Cassandra adjusted to her surroundings before letting out a short series of cries that quickly escalated into a full blown baby wail.

Alexandra made a face and tried to calm her down.

"Where's Jasper when you need him," Alice said with a laugh.

"Right here," he said, appearing out of thin air.

He and Michael joined them in the living room and he took the crying baby from Alexandra momentarily before she calmed down almost immediately. He handed her back to Alexandra, calm a cucumber, before using his magic on Esme.

"Thanks Jas," Esme said to him.

Carlisle smiled and adjusted them so she laid halfway on his chest.

Michael sat down next to Alexandra and said his hellos to Cassandra.

Alice and Jasper looked at each other with smiles.

"Next eclipse?" Esme asked.

They both nodded and answered at the same time, "Next eclipse."


	4. Choices

**Hey all.. we're going out of town for a wedding, so might not be updating until after the weekend. Don't forget about me :) lol and hope for no rain! haha**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Alexandra and Michael sat across from each other on a lone picnic table that was placed by a trail in the woods. She could tell something was on his mind from the unusual quiet that took over his typical demeanor. The look on his face added to lack of words he'd used in the past hour.

"Whst's wrong?" Alexandra finally asked.

Michael tossed a wood chip to the ground he'd been playing with, "Nothing."

"Come on," she pried, "Did I do something?"

His eyes met hers and he squinted, "No. No, not at all."

"You sure? You haven't said much to me today."

Michael sighed and ran his thumb over her knuckles, "It's not you at all. I'm sorry, it's just..."

Alexandra waited, though he never resumed the thought. "Michael. You can tell me."

His eyes stared up toward the gray winter skies that were easily visible through the leafless trees. He then scanned the ground beneath their feet and fiddle with s stick that laid by his sneaker. "I miss my parents," he confessed, "I know it's been awhile, but they were never given anything about what happened to me. They probably have no closure, hanging on hope that some day I might return."

Alexandra felt her stomach tighten and she squeezed his hand, "I'm sorry."

He sighed and leaned himself forward onto his free hand, "I know I'm not suppose to go back, but I just want to do something to let them know that, I don't know, that I'm alright. I'd love them to be able to meet you."

"I wish we could do that too," she told him, "Maybe..." Her voice trickled off at the end, remembering the conversations she'd had with nearly all of her family members regarding the situation.

"Do you really think it would be unsafe? I just want a five minute conversation with them," he said.

Alexandra sighed and stood up to give him a hug from behind, as he still sat slumped over the picnic table, "I don't know, Michael."

"Me either."

She kissed him on the cheek, "I'm really sorry that there's nothing I can do to help."

"It's not up to you," he told her reassuringly, "It's just how it is, I guess."

"Maybe we could think up a way to let them know somehow," she said, "Rosalie told me that they all did something nice for Emmett's family when he... changed."

"Really?" he asked, eyes brightening at the thought.

"Yeah. Do you want to try talking to them?"

Michael sighed and turned around, "Yeah. Aren't they over with Kate and Garrett though? Today was Maddy and Will's first day of school I think."

"Oh, I have to talk to you about that, too."

"School?"

"Yeah..." she smiled at him and he looked at her suspiciously.

"You want to go to high school?" he suspected.

She nodded, "Kind of. I mean, what's it like? You went, right?"

He scoffed at the question, "I'd rather not repeat it all again."

Alexandra tried to hide a frown, "What if it was just two years?"

Michael looked down, "It's too late now."

"In the fall? I've talked about it with my Mom a little. Well, about me anyway."

Her voice was filled with a hint of mellow excitement and he couldn't help but let the feeling carry over somewhat into him, "Maybe," he said, "If I can play soccer there."

She put her hands on her hips, "You'll kill someone."

"Collateral damage," he joked, then cuddled her onto his lap.

Alexandra gave him a quick peck on the lips, "We'll talk to Rose and Em when they get home about your parents, okay?"

He nodded, "Okay. Thanks Alex."

"You're welcome," she said, jumping out of his lap as quickly as she'd gotten there. She held her hand out for him, "Let's go home. Maybe they're back already."

Michael took her hand and the two of them headed toward the house.

It was nearly dark when they arrived home, not realizing how far they'd wandered in the midst of their Wednesday afternoon.

Charlie's police car was parked out front, and the two of them, particularly Michael, picked up on his scent before they saw the vehicle. He knew that his presence, in the past, had made Charlie uneasy, though their brief encounters since Cassandra's birth were a little less on edge.

When they entered, Masen and Charlie stood side by side talking with Carlisle and Esme. From their subtle hello, and Masen's failure to acknowledge their entrance, Alexandra and Michael realized they must be in a serious conversation. The two of them left the room as quickly as they'd entered, leaving the four of them to their discussion.

Charlie patted Masen's shoulder and let him speak to his parents.

"I approached Charlie about becoming a police officer," he told them, "Hopefully in town."

Carlisle and Esme both nodded, already have been given a heads up on the situation from Alice.

Carlisle switched his eyes to Charlie, "Won't he have to pass a physical exam?"

He nodded, "I'll take care of the nitty gritty parts of that, if you'd like."

"You're talking about getting my urine tested for drugs, and all that right?" Masen asked.

"More or less," Carlisle said, "How-"

"We got it covered," Masen interrupted him with a smile.

"And the academy?" his father asked.

"He'll enroll soon, if it's a career choice he'd like to make, and if you'd approve of it."

Carlisle and Esme looked at each other, "We certainly approve," Esme said, "I just want to make sure, like Carlisle said, that the physical exam part of it won't somehow, give him away."

"I know a lot of people," Charlie told them with a nod, "I won't let anything suspicious come of it."

"I'll have to pass a physical test, too," Masen smiled, "Like physical as in endurance, muscular strength and all that. I'll try to dim it down a bit in the running department."

Carlisle and Esme didn't find his joke as humerous as he did, but they seemed to like the idea of him being in law enforcement.

"You'll never have to worry about me getting shot," he continued to joke.

"Can you really pull off the in's and out's of this Charlie?"

He nodded, "I wouldn't say so unless I was certain. No one will know of it but me."

"When will he take the written and physical tests to then get in to the police academy?" Esme asked.

"Soon," Charlie told her, "I don't know of the exact date, but there's a chance to do it shortly."

"I have the books I need already," he told them, then looked to Charlie.

There was a brief silence that fell over them before Carlisle nodded, "I think it's a great career for you. As long as you can stay under the radar with everything."

"I will," Masen told him.

"What does Leah think?" Esme asked.

"She's all for it."

Charlie folded his arms in front of his chest.

Masen looked at both of his parents, "I think it'd be a good way to help people. If there was someone in critical condition or injured badly on a scene..."

Carlisle looked at Charlie, "You're sure you can work that part out?"

He nodded, "Yes."

Masen smiled, "So... what are your thoughts?"

"It's a great career," Esme said, "And that way you'll be able to provide for Leah on your own."

"That's what I want to do," he told them.

"Well," Carlisle told him, "Get studying for the exam you'll have to take."

"I've already started," he said, "And Charlie said he'd help me."

Charlie nodded subtly and looked around the room.

"Thank you for offering to do this for him, Charlie," Carlisle said, reaching a hand out.

"You're welcome," he said, returning the handshake.

Everyone seemed comfortable and content with the decision, though Carlisle knew he was going to have to tell Masen the in's and out's of keeping their identities under the radar in the work place.


	5. Children of the Moon

**Chapter 5**

Carlisle packed Masen and Leah's refrigerator with a few miscellaneous items and took a few minutes to say goodbye to Cassandra. He handed Leah a small stack of winter hats, "These are from Esme. She knows Cassie probably won't be cold, but just in case."

Leah smiled and accepted the gift and took her daughter back from his arms, "Thank you. You guys don't have to do this. The food either," she gestured back toward the fridge.

"It's nothing," he assured her, then placed a hand on Masen's shoulder, "I'll see you guys later."

"Thanks Dad," he said.

"Keep him in line, Leah," Carlisle said, flashing a smile at both of them, "Make sure he studies."

"Oh I have been," she smiled back, then looked at Masen, who was grinning at her, "He's had his nose in that police exam book for hours at a time."

"Good," Carlisle said to them, "Well, I'll see you soon. And beware of Alice. She may stop in an ask you guys a few questions."

"About the wedding?" Leah suspected.

Carlisle shrugged and smiled slyly, "Possibly." He made his way out the door as the two of them bid him a quick farewell.

He removed his keys from his pocket and twirled them in his hand. About fifty yards away, he waved to Billy, who was wheeling away from his house toward the mailbox.

Carlisle quickly went over to help him and met up with him at the end of the driveway.

Billy smiled, "I'm okay. Been adapting my lifestyle since Jacob moved out."

"How've you been holding up?" he asked.

"Well, you know how it is. I knew the day would come eventually. A little lonely at times, but he visits me every other day," he smiled, "And Renesme too. She brings me over baked goods once a week."

Carlisle smiled and nodded.

"You know," he said, "I was thinking about all of the Quileutes imprinting on... your kind, not particularly Jacob and Nessy, but both Seth and Leah with your boy and Lucy."

"Yeah?"

Billy looked thoughtful, "Shapeshifters have been called Children of the Moon. Now, we've come to the conclusion that you've discovered a way to have biological children through the magic of our culture."

Carlisle's expression was now as thoughtful as Billy's and he put his hands on his hips, listening intently to what Billy was getting at.

"I mean, what do I really know about all of it," he went on, "But, I mean maybe your children are in that same category, because they too, in a way, are Children of the Moon."

He nodded reflexively to Billy's words, "That's a very interesting concept. It makes sense."

"I've had more time to think these days," he said with a snicker.

"No, I've been wondering that myself," Carlisle said, "And I know what you mean with Jacob and Renesme. They're a completely different circumstance."

"Because Renesme's conception wasn't, in part, due to the moon's phase," Billy finished.

"Right," he said with another nod.

"And William and, Madison is it?"

"William and Madison, yes," Carlisle said.

"They're both Children of the Moon, so that might explain their immediate connection."

"What about Alexandra and Michael?"

Billy thought for a moment, "He was turned by a bite? He used to be human?"

"Yes," Carlisle told him.

"Well, your daughter has her own exceptional power I've been told," Billy said, "Maybe she needed him in her life, and vice versa. I mean, not every Quileute shapeshifter is with another. Just look at Sam and Emily."

Carlisle nodded.

"And vampires don't always fall with other vampires; Bella and Edward. Then there's Jake and Ness," he shrugged, "It's just a thought as to why it might been happening more now, than ever before."

"Do you know of any other times of it happening?" Carlisle asked him.

Billy shook his head, "Not to my knowledge. I know you've done your research as well, just before the birth of your granddaughter."

"Yeah," he told him.

"I've documented a lot of recent happenings, since Jacob's imprinting," Billy admitted, "There have been legends, obviously, in our tribe that have been passed down from generation to generation. Most of them not legends at all, but truths that the younger children never experienced and find hard to accept as truth because of that."

"I understand," Carlisle said.

"I can show you, if you'd like," Billy offered.

"Okay," he reached in the mailbox and handed Billy a small stack of envelopes, then pushed him back up to the house.

Billy took a deep breath, "Thanks," he said as he opened the screen door to the house, "It's nice getting a push once in a while."

Carlisle smiled and guided him inside.

Billy made his way around the house, then reappeared with a book that looked more like a thick journal. For the recent dates of the writings, it looked far too old. The binding was strong, but the pages looked worn out and the cover could have passed for something from ages and ages ago. He removed it from his lap and handed it to Carlisle.

The thick front cover had the title, written with a professional neatness, "Quileute Legends of the 21st Century".

Carlisle flipped it open and the first page had a drawing of a campfire surrounded by trees, sketched in black and gray pastels with the title "Written by Billy Black" printed perfectly on top of it. The page that followed was an unfinished table of contents.

"I began it with the birth of Renesme," Billy told him, "I hope you don't mind."

"No," he assured him, not taking his eyes off the pages, "Not at all." His eyes scanned the immaculate up-close drawing of a baby in a pair of hands. From the style and accents of the picture, which was also done perfectly with touches of gray and black pastels, it almost gave the impression that the child, in some way, was holy or sacred in some way. The details of her eyes gave away that the sketch represented Renesme. The collection of words and sentences beneath it described her origins.

From there, the story of Jacob imprinting began with illustrations, then paused before their current married status at the birth of Masen.

Carlisle couldn't take his eyes off of, what he was beginning to think of as, Billy's masterpiece. The photos of his son as his story was told, dated and labeled accordingly, were absolutely mesmerizing and beautifully done. The artwork was particularly amazing, though Billy's tale of how he came to be, and Leah's imprinting on him, were equally fascinating.

"I haven't had the opportunity to go in depth with Cassandra yet," Billy said, after a long moment of silence as Carlisle continued to read.

His eyes looked up toward Billy for the first time since opening the book, "This is amazing Billy." He rested his hand on the open page that was decorated with a large, up close drawing of a wolf with an elegant dark haired girl by it's side with her hand on it's back.

"I have a lot of time to myself these days," he repeated, again referring to the absence of Jacob.

Carlisle continued to scroll through the true stories that decades from now would surely be told around campfires as legends, either by the Quileutes themselves or teenagers in the area.

Billy watched his eyes rapidly moving from word to word, sentence to sentence, until he reached the first of many blank pages that, in time, would surely be filled with more tales of each of their families.

"Have you personally done this before?" Carlisle asked him, "I mean, writing and drawing..." His voice changed to a question, "You did the drawings, as well?"

He nodded, "I did."

"You're very talented. These pictures, these stories... "

"This is the first book I've begun to write myself. Of course there are others that have been passed down through the life of the tribe, and then those that are more mainstream that you can buy in stores, or find on the internet. Whatever the sources are these days."

Carilsle closed the book, running his hand along the front cover one more time, before handing it back to Billy, "So the connections of the Children of the Moon, whether shapeshifters of the Quileute tribe, or those conceived by the power of the lunar eclipse, they're your theories?"

Billy nodded, "I suppose that's why they're called legends."

"Well, they're theories I happen to agree with, especially after your thoughts and research... and knowledge."

"Just something I do on a rainy day," he smiled, "And since we have quite a bit of them in these parts, I guess that leaves me with a lot of days."

The two of them nodded as Carlisle continued to be a little awestruck at the elegant nature of the book, "Well, thank you for letting me read that. It's a very intriguing concept and you tell the story quite nicely."

"Thank you Dr. Cullen," Billy said.

He was about to insist that he call him Carlisle, but Billy waved and wheeled himself out of the room.

"Come by again whenever," he called.

"Thank you, Billy."

"Thank you for getting the mail."

"You're welcome." Carlisle let himself out through the screen door. He walked back the fifty yards over to his car, gave a quick look toward Masen and Leah's house before heading home, wishing he had a copy of Billy's book to really sit back and look through.


	6. Sometimes You Just Need To Get It Out

**Chapter 6**

Carlisle had stopped off to get Esme a dozen red roses on the way back from the Quileute reservation. He felt she needed a little surprise, sensing her mood lately was a bit back and forth. Earlier in the day, he'd left a bottle of wine in the back of the refrigerator with expectation that it would be perfectly chilled by the time he returned home.

Carlisle's car rounded into the driveway, passing Emmett and Rosalie in his Jeep just before he slid into his usual parking place.

The house was now loosely decorated with icicle lights that were aligned perfectly around the trimming of the house, as well as some of the nearby trees. Their glow gave off the perfect wintery atmosphere in the dark world around them.

_Alice,_ Carlisle thought to himself, as he clicked off his seatbelt and headed into the house with the roses tucked under his right arm.

Immediately, the sound of a lightly strummed acoustic guitar could be heard from down the hall and Carlisle could see Jasper trying to teaching Alexandra and Michael how to play, though there was mostly laughter coming from their direction.

He smiled and crossed through the dark first level of their home and opened the fridge as he crossed through the kitchen. The light it gave off as he opened the door provided the area with the only source of lighting.

Carlisle reached toward the back where'd left the bottle of wine and secured it in his hand before nudging the door shut with his hip.

"You're both hopeless," Jasper joked, giving the guitar a final strum.

"Okay," Alice urged, "Time to paint!"

"Teaching us to paint tonight too, Jas?" Alexandra's voice asked, somewhat sarcastically, but fun and interested all the same.

"One talent per night," he responded.

"You said you'd paint a picture of the kids," Alice reminded him.

"As I shall," he laughed, "But no teaching tonight."

The group of them emerged through into the room, barely acknowledging Carlisle.

"Be back in a bit," Alice said to him, then gave him a quick wink upon noticing his hands were full.

Alexandra and Michael had already beaten her outside without so much as a 'hello' or 'goodbye' and Jasper followed closely behind with his painting supplies.

Between the four of them, it was like a whirlwind tornado rather than four people heading out the door.

Carlisle made his way upstairs into the family room where Esme leaning against the railing of one of the several balconies in their home. She watched as the kids darted off into the night.

"Hey," he greeted her, walking slowly in her direction.

Esme jumped, apparently not realizing he'd come into the room and held a small wad of tissues to her eyes.

Carlisle's happy expression quickly changed and he rushed over to his wife. "What's wrong?" The words he spoke were accompanied by his arms wrapping around her securely, though he held his face back to try reading her expression.

Esme choked out a laugh and shook her head, then looked over his shoulder at the roses and wine bottle he'd ditched in the attempt to comfort her. Her expression, too, changed and she suddenly looked apologetic, "Carlisle," she shook her head again, "I'm sorry."

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said honestly, though a few tears managed to continually disrupt the perfect lines she'd made with her eyeliner earlier.

His eyes turned skeptical, "Something..."

"No, honestly," Esme stepped back from him and continued to dry her eyes, "Nothing happened."

Carlisle looked over at the couch and noticed several photo albums, one left open where he'd assumed Esme had paused from her journey down memory lane.

"It didn't even register that you would be back yet," she said, feeling silly and thinking back to the other day when she'd prevented herself from a good cry so he wouldn't come home and find her in this condition.

He gave her a forced half grin, "I can leave."

"No," her response came before he could finish the end of the last word, "That's not what I mean at all. I'd never want that. I just, was having a cry that's all. This is probably going to sound completely foreign, but I never finished the cry I almost started the other night when I was reading the letters. I just had to get it out." A deep sigh heaved in and out of her upper body and she quietly sniffed in.

Below them on the lawn, Edward and Bella crossed their way from the woods toward the house, each with a curious expression that became more clear the closer they got. It seemed obvious to both, from Carlisle's point of view, that Esme was upset from the way they stood. He didn't know if she'd become aware of their presence or not, but he waved them on and communicated to Edward telepathically.

_Everything's fine,_ he repeated several times,_ nothing serious by any means._

Edward seemed to be satisfied and put an arm on Bella's back to guide her into the house.

Esme sighed and she laughed at herself briefly.

Carlisle smiled, glad to see nothing had gone wrong, nor was she in some way unhappy with him or a current situation. He pulled her close for a minute again and kissed her forehead, "I can give you your space for a little while. I know sometimes everyone needs a moment or two to themselves."

Esme smiled, unable to remain completely unhappy in his comforting embrace, "No. I had my moment. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she nodded, now carefully running her fingers under each eye, "Is my makeup all over?"

Carlisle shook his head, "No," he kissed her forehead again and couldn't help but smile as her eyes gently close reactively and her facial expression became a little brighter.

Esme looked up into his eyes and planted her lips onto his, then proceeded to look over his shoulder, "I completely ruined your surprise."

He kept his arms around her and looked back to where he'd left the flowers and the wine, "No, you didn't." His eyes returned to hers and he scanned their empty yard, "Let's take this onto _our_ balcony."

She smiled again, fully this time, and agreed as he took her by the hand to recollect the items he'd brought home for her.

"Should I go get two glasses?" Esme asked him.

"I knew I was forgetting something," Carlisle said back with a wide smile.

"I'll meet you in there," she fluttered out of the room and down the stairs.

Carlisle walked over and picked up the albums she had been looking through and tucked them under his arm as he headed into their bedroom.

Esme returned momentarily with scissors, a vase and two wine glasses.

The two of them casually walked out onto the balcony that overlooked a different part of the yard, which had already been propped open.

Carlisle set the bottle down on a small wooden table that rested between two chairs and Esme did the same with each of their glasses. He still held onto the dozen longstemmed roses and gave her a meaningful stare as he handed them to her, "I love you," he said, "I don't want you to be sad."

"I'm not sad," she told him, "It's hard to be sad when you're around. I just, sometimes more than others, get completely terrified of losing you."

"You're not going to," he said confidently, "Ever."

"I don't think I've ever been this paranoid about your safety before," she said.

"A lot has happened in the last five years," Carlisle told her understandingly, "But right now, presently, there's nothing to fear."

"I know," Esme said with a nod. Her hand fully accepted the flowers as he leaned in and gave her a series of kisses before engaging in a long, emotion-filled hug. Her hands ran up and down his back and she placed her hand protectively around the back of his head in the same fashion both of them did with Cassandra.

Carlisle kissed her on the cheek and the two of them separated for a moment so Esme could cut the flowers and put them in the vase.

"Thank you," she said to him, "Thanks for getting me these."

"You're welcome," he said back, then scooted inside to get the albums.

Esme snickered and shook her head, "I don't even know what I was crying about." She poured them each a glass of wine, filled up about halfway.

He pulled her onto his lap into one of the chairs and kept her close to him. Each of them took a sip at the same time before he placed his glass on the table. Esme continued to hold hers with both hands and leaned into his chest as he began to browse the photos that had left her in the emotional state she'd been in when he'd arrived home.

His arms were protectively around her as he thumbed through the pages, carefully checking her reaction at each of the photos.

"I really like this one," Esme said with a laugh, pointing to the one they'd taken of a young Madison kissing a disgusted William on the cheek down on Isle Esme. The close-up nature of the photo gave away everything the two of them were thinking in their expressions. Madison was full of playful jest and young hearted silliness, while William's face was a combination of shock and objection.

Carlisle laughed, "I remember that."

"How the tables have turned," she said, still chuckling.

"It's funny how that happens," he agreed, turning the page.

Both of them smiled at some of the very first images of Alexandra, one of them in particular reminding Carlisle of a sketch Billy had drawn of her in the book of legends he'd shown him earlier.

"Oh, this day," Esme said, running a hand along the pictures.

"I don't think I've ever given you the proper apology for all that happened over the course of that week," Carlisle told her.

She shook her head lightheartedly, but he continued to insist.

"It wasn't fair for me to leave you the way that I did, or cause you the pain that you've told me you felt because of my choices."

"You had to go to protect Masen," Esme said with a voice full of empathy, "I've always understood your decision. I've never questioned you about it, nor will I ever."

"I feel responsible for you feeling the way you did tonight. I feel like I've instilled you with a worry that you didn't have before."

"Carlisle," she said, "I'm fine. I think all women just have these, I don't know, moments for some reason."

His eyes traveled the length of her face before they secured her gaze.

"It's not unhealthy to let it all out once in a while," she continued, "It feels kind of relieving afterwards. Hard to explain, but Rosalie understands." She laughed again.

Carlisle, for a moment, tried to fight back a smile, then let his expression win the battle, "If you say so."

"I say so," Esme told him, giving him another kiss.

He reached for his wine glass and took another swig, almost to the point where the glass was empty.

Esme quickly refilled it, almost to his protest, though he decided to continue to do what he'd intended and so he sat back and relax with the most beautiful woman on earth in his arms as they continued to look through some of the best memories of their lives together.


	7. A Package

**If anyone is on Tumblr let me know! I'm fairly new on there, wasn't sure if anyone else was on the site :) My name on there is teamcarlisleesme ... but I have no idea how to find people myself**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Alice and Jasper walked hand in hand behind Alexandra and Michael. Jasper had his finished product of the painting he'd created of the two of them, though was yet to reveal his work to anyone but Alice.

"Let us see," Alexandra pleaded with him, turning her body around to face him while continuing to walk backwards.

Michael quickly scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder, "Stop bugging him."

"Is it really that terrible Jasper?" she continued to tease, raising her eyebrows.

A smile escaped his lips, "You certainly didn't inherit your father's patience."

They continued the playful spat back and forth until they finally reached the back porch of the house. Once they were under the lighting, Jasper flipped the piece of artwork around so they could see his masterpiece.

"Ta-da!" Alice said, waving her hands around it like a game-show host.

"Wow," the two of them said at once.

"You're really talented," Michael acknowledged.

Jasper handed them the picture and Alice elegantly leapt into his arms, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks," Alexandra said with a smile, "I guess it's not so bad."

Jasper grinned and shook his head.

"I'm kidding," she assured him, "It's beautiful." Her eyes refocused on Michael and she gave him a kiss. He threw an arm around her shoulders after tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Emmett's Jeep barreled around the corner and into the driveway and he blared the horn to make an extra special note of he and Rosalie's entrance.

"Stop," her voice came from the passenger seat before the two of them hopped out of the vehicle.

"We're going to hunt," Alice said aloud to no one in particular. No later than a second or two later, she and Jasper were gone.

"Do you want to talk to Rosalie and Emmett now?" Alexandra whispered to Michael.

He shrugged, a little shy to approach them regarding his parents.

"Come on," she tugged on his t-shirt and headed into the house upon hearing Rosalie open the front door.

Rosalie removed her Ugg boots and placed them to the side, along with her coat. Emmett quickly draped the hat he was wearing over the top of the coat rack and took off his jacket, as well.

"Hey," Alexandra said, approaching them slowly, "Can we talk to you guys for a second?" Her eyes drifted toward the top of the staircase, expecting one or both of her parents to enter upon hearing her question to Rosalie, who's eyes followed her gaze.

"Me and Emmett?" she asked.

"Yeah," she responded, "If you're not busy."

Emmett's expression turned slightly serious and he shrugged, "What's up?"

Alexandra made a driving motion with her hand and asked a lightly as possible if the four of them could take a drive.

Rosalie nodded and put her boots back on as Emmett tucked the winter hat he'd been wearing back over his ears. The four of them headed back out to the car and left without an interruption from anyone.

When they were far enough away from the house, Rosalie turned around from the passenger seat, "What's wrong?" she asked.

Emmett pulled the car over to the side of the windy back road they'd been driving on and set his blinker on so if anyone came their way they would be aware of the vehicle. "You're not pregnant are you?" he laughed.

"Ugh, no!" Alexandra said immediately.

"I'm kidding," he said.

Rosalie gave Emmett a light shove on the arm, "What's going on Alex?"

She looked over at Michael, who looked too timid to speak. She took a deep breath, "Well, I know it's completely against the rules, but..." she sighed again, "I mean, would it be wrong if Michael and I went to see his parents? Just once? We want to make sure they're okay."

Emmett and Rosalie looked at each other, both of their expressions now stern. He put the car in park so he could turn to face them completely.

"Michael," Emmett started, "I know how you feel about that. I honestly do."

Rosalie put a hand on Emmett's forearm and gave him a loving squeeze, then did the same to his cheek. Her eyes went soft and sympathetic for him.

"I think if we talk to Carlisle, he'd agree to send them something anonymously, like a care package or something," he went on, "But meeting up with them," he shook his head, "It's out of the question."

"But what about Bella?" Michael asked.

Emmett and Rosalie exchanged a quick glance again, "The only real reason why Charlie knows is because he was bitten."

"And he didn't change?"

"Bella sucked the venom out in time," Rosalie finished with a nod, "And now Charlie is, in a way, part of the Quileutes because of Sue, so we think his knowledge is more or less cancelled out because of that little detail."

"But I know my parents wouldn't say anything. They wouldn't even know I'm a vampire."

"Michael," Emmett said again shaking his head, "We can't do it. Especially over in Europe. It would put them at grave risk, and the same thing would go for us. The Volturi would come headhunting. They live for things like that."

"But they were on our side against Olivia," Michael said hopefully, "Twice. And Lucy-"

Rosalie put a hand on Michael's shoulder and continually switched her gaze from him to Alexandra, who's eyes were trying to understand, though were filled with pain for their words. "It just can't happen the way you want it to," she said, "I'm sorry. All of us, well most of us, have had to endure the same type of pain. Me and Emmett both had to pretend we were dead. The same thing with Carlisle and Esme. Edward's mother had already-"

"We can send them a package," Emmett said, interrupting, "It's all we can do, Michael. I'm sorry."

Alexandra swallowed hard, not used to Emmett being so adamant and serious. Michael's expression looked somewhat defeated, though he didn't try to challenge either of them. He just nodded and tried not to sulk.

"I'm sorry, Michael," Rosalie said, "I really am."

"So am I," Emmett told him, "I know it's hard, but it's about safety. I'm sure this isn't what either of you wanted to hear."

"We wouldn't insist if it wasn't important," Rosalie continued, "You have to listen to us on this."

Alexandra looked over at Michael, who looked down toward the ground and nodded. She put a sympathetic hand on his knee and he placed a hand over hers.

"Sorry, man," Emmett said, "Do you want to see if Carlisle and Esme will put something together for your parents? I'm sure they won't mind." He looked at Rosalie.

"Of course they won't," she said.

"Alright," he agreed.

"Oh," Rosalie said, "Edward was onto both of you. I'm sure he'll try to corner you both once you get inside. Just tell him that the four of us talked it out."

"Okay," the two of them said with equally monotone voices.

Rosalie turned back around to face the windshield, looking over at Emmett as he did the same. They joined hands after he put the car in drive and they headed home as a light snow began to fall.


	8. Family Meeting

**Chapter 8**

Carlisle and Esme sat close to each other on the couch upstairs in the family room. Rosalie sat to Esme's right and Emmett placed his hands on the back of the couch behind her.

Jasper and Alice sat across from them on a separate couch while Edward stood with his arm around Bella, stroking her arm slightly.

In the center of everyone were Alexandra and Michael. They held opposing postures; Alexandra looked lively, yet tense and Michael had yet to make direct eye contact with anyone and kept reverting his shy eyes to the floor. He looked severely uncomfortable.

"Mike, relax," Jasper told him, picking up on everything Michael was currently feeling.

For the first time, he lifted his eyes and nodded upon meeting Jasper's stare, "Sorry."

"Michael," Esme started, "I know how important your family is to you. It was an unfair circumstance you were handed." She paused and looked over at Carlisle.

He noticed Michael's almost ashamed expression and felt bad for him. "You have nothing to be ashamed of here. You're completely justified in feeling the way that you do. It's not easy to have to let important things go, and it's not fair either."

"I shouldn't have brought it up," Michael told them, shaking his head calmly, "I know you've all told the ways of the world in this new life, and I owe you all so much for accepting me."

"It's your parents we're worried about more than us," Esme told him, "We don't want them to be in any danger. The Volturi, even though they have helped us in the past, they also will stop at nothing to keep our identities safe from humans."

"But what if they can keep the secret?" Alexandra asked, "I obviously haven't met them but if it's for Michael's sake and his safety then I'm sure they would never say anything."

"One touch of Aro's hand, and he'll know everything," Edward reminded them, "We had to go through a lot to keep Bella safe when she was still human. The only compromise they made was changing her to be one of us. It's something that still pains me to this day, even though the decision has made both of us happier; me selfishly."

"Would you really choose this life for your parents?" Rosalie asked Michael.

He sighed and shook his head.

"What's wrong with this lifestyle?" Alexandra asked.

"It's different for you, Masen and William," Rosalie told her, "The lust for human blood isn't there. And once you've been human," she shrugged, "I can't explain it."

"If it weren't for the safety of everyone's lives," Carlisle continued, he glanced at Esme briefly, "I would love for you to welcome your parents back into your life. If it were my way the connection would have never been broken. Unfortunately, the Volturi don't see it that way."

"What if Lucy talks to her dad?" Alexandra asked.

"We can't even pose the question to him."

"Why not?" she persisted.

"Alex," Esme stood up, "I wish there was a better explanation, and I know you know Aro in a way where he's helped us, and how he's your friend's father, but he can be very dangerous."

"And determined," Emmett added, "We've been able to hold our own with them and we're possibly even stronger now, but one of these days someone is going to die if these challenges continue." He squeezed Rosalie's shoulder, "And even if we were to come out victorious, even one death from our side is a big loss."

"It's not a risk we can take," Carlisle finished.

"We're lucky to have all gotten out alive this far," Jasper told them, "And like Carlisle said, if it were up to us, we'd be more than happy to let you have a relationship with your parents."

Alice shuddered slightly, an action that Jasper reacted to by pulling her closer to him. Only Edward could read that she was reliving the vision she had when they came close to blows with the Volturi over Renesme. He, too, pulled Bella a little tighter to his side.

Michael's eyes were sad, but he held his head high and manned up with a nod, "I understand. I won't mention it anymore."

Esme walked over and gave him a long hug, "I'm sorry, honey. I wish there was something we could do to arrange it safely."

Carlisle joined her and hugged his daughter, though she let her arms drape to the sides instead of returning the gesture. Despite her unwillingness to hug him back, he kissed the top of her head and stepped back to face them both, "I'll send them something, like we did with Emmett's family. Hopefully they will be able to receive the closure they deserve, in some aspects. I know it won't hold a candle to seeing you again, but it'll be something."

"Thank you," Michael said sincerely. He looked into Carlisle's eyes, who were equally sad and sincere, "I would really like that." His eyes shifted to Esme's, who hugged him again.

"I'm sorry, Alex," Carlisle said.

She continued to look down and shrugged.

"Alex," Emmett said, "We'll do something over the top for them." He rounded the couch and stood next to Rosalie, who was nodding in agreement.

"Alright," she said, then abruptly left the room.

"I didn't want to make a big deal of this," Michael told everyone, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Carlisle told him, "A lot of us have had to go through this type of thing. We all understand."

"I feel selfish for even bringing it up."

"Don't," Carlisle and Esme said at the same time.

"I know this probably won't help right now," Alice said, "But things do get better with time."

"It's been awhile," he told her, "A couple years."

"I was thinking more like a couple decades," she said back with a shrug, "And in eternity's time, it's not all that long... if you can think of it that way." Her voice was cheery, but she felt like her words weren't helping.

"Thanks," Michael said.

She gave him a closed mouth smile and leaned an elbow on Jasper's shoulder.

"Alexandra's upset with our decision," Carlisle said quietly to Esme.

"I'm sure she is," Esme said in the same voice level, "But she'll have to understand."

"She'll be alright," Edward told them, approaching where the two of them stood. He turned to Michael, "And so will you."

Michael nodded, "Thanks. I know. I'm sure it'll pass."

Emmett patted him on the back and gave him a quick hug, "Sorry man."

"It's okay."

Carlisle looked to Edward for answers, "Alex?"

"She understands," Edward assured him, "She just feels a little helpless in helping out Michael right now."

He nodded and looked at Esme, placing a thumb under her chin for a second before leaving the room.

Esme looked at Edward and Bella and shrugged, "I wish we could do more, but we just can't."

"Things will die down," he assured her, "We've crossed this road in the past." Edward gave her a hug, "And Alexandra will calm down. She really does understand, but her feelings for Michael are just coming above logic right now."

"I can understand her feelings there," Bella said, looking up Edward.

He smiled and kissed her on the forehead, "I think we all do."

Esme gave them both a motherly kiss on the cheek, leaving each of them with smiles as she went to find Carlisle and Alexandra. She made her way down the staircase and found the two of them chatting quietly in Edward's music room. Alexandra hand one hand against the piano and Carlisle stood in front of her listening as she continued to protest.

"Mom," her voice came as Esme joined them.

"I wish I could agree with you, Alex," she said apologetically, "But it would put us all in danger."

"Do you really think Lucy's dad is that bad?"

Carlisle looked at Esme, then to his daughter, "I've known him for centuries. I used to live with their coven. Not to mention everything we've gone through with them in the recent years. Since you've been born, they've helped us, but they would not hesitate to hurt us if they thought it was justified."

"Dad," Alexandra said sternly, though did not have an attitude in the tone of her voice, "What if it was Mom in this situation, and you knew that she wasn't selfish enough to make the move herself, but you knew in your heart it was right?"

"If it meant her safety," he said, just as sternly, "Then I would be saying the same thing that I'm saying to both of you."

Alice cleared her throat and entered the room, "Mind if I borrow Alex for a second?"

Alexandra looked at her parents briefly then walked past them.

Alice put an arm around her back and nodded to Carlisle and Esme to let them know she would be telling their daughter something of substance.

"Come on," her voice called lightly. She dragged Alexandra by the hand to another location in the house. When the two of them were in their own private area, she looked at her sister, "Can I tell you something that happened? It was about Renesme when she was a baby."

"I know," Alexandra told her, "The Volturi came here and there was a big misunderstanding and-"

"About my vision," she cut her off, "My vision of what would have happened that day if Aro had stuck with his original game plan."

Alexandra kept quiet and let Alice continue.

"Jasper and I arrived a little late because we were going to find Nahuel, who was another half human, half vampire. When we approached Aro, he did everything in his power to try to create a reason to fight. He knew there would be blood shed on both sides, but he didn't care - not at first."

"What happened?"

"Well, fortunately for all of us, nothing," Alice told her, "But when he saw what would have happened, ending in his own demise, he decided against a fight and allowed us to walk away without having to use force."

"His own demise?" Alexandra asked, "Then why should we be scared of him? I mean if he was going to, well, by demise I would assume you mean died..."

"Because, like Emmett said upstairs," she went on, "we don't want to fight at the cost of lives lost on our side. The Volturi, however, don't care much unless they know they, individually, will be okay in the end. Aro only agreed to leave because he saw his own death in my vision. Now, had we fought them that day, we would have come out on top."

"That's good," Alexandra said with a shrug.

Alice shook her head, "We would have come out on top, but lives would have been lost. Seth, Leah," a deep breath left her lungs, "Jasper..."

Alexandra's eyes widened.

"And I hate to even say it to you," Alice continued, "But your dad."

She swallowed hard and her former animated expression softened a bit, "What?"

"I've kept most of the details of that vision to myself," she explained, "I didn't want to put anyone through the mental torture I've put myself through, but yeah that's exactly what would have happened."

"They all would have died?"

Alice nodded with a saddened expression, "That's why we need to stay hidden, and keep to ourselves as much as possible."

"H-how would he, my dad.. how would he have... died?"

"Saving me," she said.

Alexandra sighed and looked down, "And Jasper... I'm sorry. Seth? Leah! Masen would have been so lonely."

"There wouldn't have been a Masen," Alice shook her head, "Or you, for that matter. None of us would have known that having children was possible even. Our whole world would have been upside down in a million ways if the four of them weren't here."

Alexandra pondered the thought and realized how true Alice's statement was. Had her father died, Masen and her would not exist, and because they wouldn't have discovered the secrets of the moon, there would in turn be no William, Madison or Luciana. Half of their family would have either been nonexistent, or gone forever.

Alice threw an arm around her, "You just have to trust us on this. I know how bad you want to make sure Michael is happy. I totally get it. I would want the same thing for Jasper, but like your dad said, not if it meant his safety."

Alexandra nodded, "Sorry."

"Don't be," she smiled, "We all know how you're feeling."

They both forced a smile and Alexandra gave Alice a hug, "Thanks. I'm sorry it got to the point where I made you re-tell that story. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Edward joined up with them, "Well, now you've done it Alex," he laughed, then turned to Alice, "You got Mom all worked up about 'what could have been'."

"Rosalie too?" Alice asked.

"They do tend to share those emotions lately," Edward said, still grinning, "And it's funny too because they're kind of opposite. Esme is so sweet and Rosalie, well, she's-"

"Edward," Alice scolded him before their sister could do it herself.

All three of them were expecting to hear a rebuttal from Rosalie, but it never came.

"You know we're in for a long night when she doesn't respond," Alice whispered.

Edward put a hand on both of their shoulders, "Good job guys," he whispered back, "Now I have to hear their rapid fire thoughts all night."


	9. Children's Love

**Chapter 9**

Alexandra had apologized to her parents several times and agreed to a hunt with Esme. The two of them spent some time talking about Michael's situation, and Alexandra assured her mother that she understood.

"Why don't we put together the package either tonight or early tomorrow," Esme suggested, "You and Michael can tell us specific things for them to have. We'll give them a sum of money to go with it."

"Okay," she nodded, "I'm sorry Mom. Thank you."

Esme leaned in and gave her a tight squeeze, "We love you so much. I'm sorry there isn't a better solution."

"It's not anyone's fault. It's-" Alexandra made a face, "Olivia's." She shook her head, "But I can't hate her completely. Without her, Michael would have never come here."

"There are blessings all around us, even if they seem a little backwards," Esme assured her, "It's important to see the bright side of things."

She nodded and hugged her mother again, "Thanks. I know."

They headed inside, where Michael stood at the back door waiting for their arrival. Esme squeezed his forearm as she passed, leaving the two of them alone as she sensed he wanted to speak with Alexandra privately.

Upstairs, Carlisle sat on the edge of the bed watching the news, "Traffic jams up the interstate," he said as Esme entered, "Don't go too far." He flashed her a smile.

"I don't plan on it," she said, sitting next to him.

Carlisle rubbed her back, then massaged her neck with his thumb and index finger. He looked over her shoulder and could have predicted Esme's next sentence.

"Time for work?" she asked him, noting the attire he'd changed into while she was out with Alexandra.

He laughed, cupping her face with his hands and kissing her once, "I know you so well," he laughed, "I knew when I looked at the clock you'd know what I was thinking."

Esme smiled and looked down, "Be safe."

"Always," he told her with a half smile.

She sighed.

"Thinking about Alice's vision?"

"You must be so sick of this by now," Esme laughed, "All week I've been emotional. Am I driving you completely nuts?"

Carlisle snickered, "Not at all."

"I had snapped out of it, you know," she said, "Honestly. The other night when we sat out on the balcony and had some wine. I haven't felt so relaxed in weeks."

He placed his fingers gently under her chin and tilted her face toward him, "So stay that way. I'll be home by midnight."

"I won't call on the hour, every hour," she joked.

Carlisle smiled, "I can call out if you want."

Esme smiled, "No. Don't be silly," she laughed, "I'll manage."

He faked a disappointed face, "Well, if you don't want me here..."

She swatted him on the arm, "Go, before I change my mind."

"Oh, now you're practically pushing me out the door," he stood up, still acting jokingly defensive, "I get it. I get it." Carlisle turned his back to her and headed for the door, taking a look over his shoulder with a grin. He started to laugh as Esme stood with her hands on her hips pretending to glare at him.

She motioned for him to come back and he immediately filled her requests. Esme pulled him into her and gave him a long kiss, then wrapped her arms around him and pulled him even closer, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Esme sighed, taking in the feel of his words as they left his lips and danced across her collar bone.

Carlisle pulled back and kissed her quickly again, "Midnight. I'll be back."

"Okay," she said, trying to ignore the tightness in her stomach and chest.

"I love you," he said again, taking extra long to part from her.

"I love you." She pulled him in once more, then waved goodbye as he left the room, and no sooner than a second later left the house.

"I must be driving him crazy," Esme whispered to herself, plopping down on the bed. She laid there for several minutes in silence with her eyes closed and tried come back to the present time. Each time she took in a deep breath to try to calm her nerves, the faint scent of Carlisle that lingered in the room hit her senses like a ton of bricks. She couldn't rid the image of him tattered and wave tossed on the beach at Isle Esme. Alice's story of her vision had added a gallon of gasoline to the fire.

Before she knew it, she was surrounded by two of her family members. Alice and Jasper had made their way into her room and were now on either side of her.

"You're not driving him crazy," Alice said.

"But you're making me crazy," Jasper joked, he turned his voice to a whisper, "If it makes you feel any better, Rosalie's worse. She's begging Emmett for more babies and crying."

Esme and Alice both laughed.

"Alexandra and Michael both seem okay for the time being," Esme said, "I just took her hunting and I heard them put on a movie downstairs."

"Yep," Alice said.

"A little cuddly make out session too," Jasper told her with a wink.

"He's lying," Alice laughed.

"Am I?"

Esme gave them a look.

"I am," he confirmed with a laugh.

"What's on TV?" Alice asked, "We're crashing your lonesome party."

Esme began to enjoy their company more as the seconds went by and didn't know if it was because of Jasper, or if it was on her own right.

"No soaps," Jasper said, "Please."

"That's fair," Esme told him, "We just had the news on before. You can put it on whatever you want."

Alice took control of the remote and found the movie Wedding Crashers as they browsed.

"Oh, this one's funny," she said, leaving it on. She bundled up partway under the covers, "It's times like these I wish we enjoyed a nice cup of tea."

Esme laughed, "Yeah."

Alexandra walked up to the open doorway and gave a chuckle, "What are you guys doing?"

"Keeping mama company," Alice said nonchalantly, "Care to join?"

She turned her head toward the television, "Me and Michael are watching this downstairs. I just wanted to say sorry again. Didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

"You're fine," Jasper said.

"Really honey," Esme said, "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

Alexandra shrugged, "Do you think Rose is mad at me? Her and Emmett left a few minutes ago. It sounded like she was upset."

"Rosalie will be fine," Alice told her with a wave of her hand, "I wouldn't worry too much. And no, she's not mad at you."

"Okay," she said, "Well... I guess I'll go back down stairs."

"You can stay here," Esme patted the bed.

"I think she wants to go with Michael," Jasper teased, raising his eyebrows.

Alexandra smiled shyly and shook her head, "I'm going to go back downstairs."

Jasper made kissing noises on her way out and Alice tossed the remote at him.

"Hey," he laughed, tossing it back lightly, "If you want me to have the remote we can watch the military channel."

"Ehh," Alice made a face.

"That's what I thought." He scrunched his nose up, then refocused on the movie.

The three of them lounged there together for awhile until the movie had ended and a new one started.

"Well," Alice said, standing up, "I have to go down to Masen's house to do my daily harassing for them to speed up their wedding. I think we're closing in on a date."

Esme laughed and Jasper joined Alice. "Good luck," she told them, "And thanks for watching the movie with me."

"Anytime," Alice said. Jasper smiled and waved before they headed out into the early night toward the reservation.

"Oooh yay! It's snowing," Alice's voice came from the driveway.

Esme smiled to herself, thankful to have such a loving family. They each had their special moments when they showed they cared in different ways. It was something she cherished and wouldn't trade for anything in the world.


	10. Hold Each Other A Little Bit Closer

**Chapter 10**

The phone went off on the nightstand and Esme reached for it. She glanced at the clock at the same time and saw that it was ten-thirty. Her eyes then immediately focused on the screen where her husband's name flashed.

"Hello," she answered.

"Hey," his voice came through, "I'm just checking in. I have a few minutes so I figured I'd give you a quick call."

Esme smiled, "How's work been?"

"Good," Carlisle told her, "Nothing major happening at the time being."

"That's always good," she said.

"Yeah. How are you?"

"I'm good. Jacob and Renesme came over for a little while before. Alexandra helped me make some chicken cutlets for them while they visited with Edward and Bella."

"That's nice," he told her.

"Yeah..."

"So, let me guess what you're doing now," he said playfully, "I'm going to guess you're back upstairs in our room, bundled up under the covers in some sweatpants. I'm guessing you've only got the nightstand lamp on and you're looking at pictures with the television on."

Esme laughed out loud and looked at her current state. She was, indeed, under the covers in sweats with the television on. She'd skimmed through a photo album just after Alice and Jasper had left much earlier in the night, though had put it back in it's place since then. "You're good," she told him.

"Am I right?"

"You're pretty close," she said with a laugh, "Except I already put the album away."

Carlisle's laughter filled her ear and it caused her to laugh again, "I know you," he told her, "Like I said before I left."

"You certainly do," she told him.

"Feeling any better?"

"Yes. A lot actually."

"Good," he said, "I'm going to get back to work but I'll be home soon."

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you, too," Esme said. She waited until the phone indicated that he had hung up before placing it back on the night stand. She smiled to herself and cuddled beneath the blankets a little deeper.

In her current emotional patterns from the last six or seven days, she wasn't sure if it was her anxious thoughts or that she actually had a reason to worry, but there was a small part of her that worried about Alexandra and Michael. She tried her best to shake it off, and for the time being, she was able to, though the thought remained dormant in the back of her mind.

Outside she heard the playful voices of Bella and Renesme, with an occasional sentence or two from Edward and Jacob.

"Snow's not sticking," Jacob's voice came, "Too bad."

"It's too warm," Edward said.

"Everything's warm compared to you," Jacob shot back in a teasing fashion.

"Let's not start that again."

Esme stood up and glanced out the window, seeing the four of them mingling in the yard under the light snowfall. Jacob's leather jacket was scattered with flakes that were quickly disappearing as they fell into warmer temperatures.

"Did you still want to go to Charlie's?" Edward asked Bella.

"Yeah," she said eagerly. The ring of her voice indicated that she, too, had been effected by the debate stirred by Alexandra and Michael. Everyone seemed to hold each other a little closer after the discussion, and Bella, in particular, could relate better than anyone, considering she was quietly the exception to the rule and had the opportunity to see her father whenever she'd like.

Rosalie she'd overheard telling Emmett how she took William for granted, considering they may have never would have been realized having children were possible if the circumstances were different, as Alice had said earlier.

Esme moved away from the window and slid back beneath the comforter, suddenly feeling bored with what she had been watching.

"Thanks for dinner!" Jacob's voice called from outside.

"Esme..." Edward's voice joined in.

She stood up again with a grin and headed toward the window, opening it up completely. Esme leaned her head out partway and waved, "You're welcome."

"Yeah, thanks!" Renesme echoed, waving back.

"Come by more often," she told them.

"We will," Jacob said promisingly.

"I'm going to hold you to that Jacob," Esme told him, pointing a finger in his direction.

He laughed and waved, taking Renesme under his arm. The four of them bolted out of sight.

Esme closed the window completely and made herself comfortable again, waiting out the rest of her night for Carlisle.

There were times when he would work double shifts for a week strait and it wouldn't bother Esme. Sure, she would rather be with him than anywhere else in the world, but she recognized the normalcy in the behavior, and it was a routine the two of them found as second nature for the life of their relationship. Esme loved the fact that Carlisle was so heavily involved in the work he enjoyed so much. Nights like tonight, however, came about every so often. For reasons she could not always point out, Esme found herself counting the seconds and the minutes until he arrived home. She would try to keep herself busy and fill the time with productive things, but when she got into these types of moods, it was hard to shake them.

The next hour ticked by slowly. Esme looked at the clock several times, each time thinking it would be fifteen or twenty minutes later than it actually was. She hated feeling so shackled by her own mind; or heart, whatever the case was. The only up side was that the overwhelming feelings were rare, and ninety percent of the time, she didn't wait like a puppy for him to get back.

_I'm so selfish,_ she thought to herself. Her mind drifted to Sue, and all humans, for the matter. They spent eight hours asleep, eight or more hours at work and only the remaining time to be with their loved ones. Sure, the thought of falling asleep in Carlisle's arms was a vision she enjoyed, and at times even fantasized about, but on the other hand, she would rather have her current luxury in being able to spend all that time awake with him.

Alexandra appeared in the doorway with Michael close behind, breaking her thoughts.

"Hey. Masen just called. We were thinking of going over to see Cassandra. Is that okay?"

Esme nodded, "Of course. Oh, give her some kisses for me. I'm going to stop by to see them tomorrow. I have some more clothes for her."

Alexandra laughed, "Okay. I'm sure Masen will be thrilled to hear that," she added sarcastically.

"Hey!" Esme said with a laugh.

Michael smiled with a snicker.

"Be safe," she told them, "Both of you. Call when you get to your brother's."

"Okay," Alexandra agreed, "Love you."

"I love you too," Esme said. She waved them out and heard them whisk through the tree line a moment later.

Over the next hour, the house was generally quiet. Rosalie and Emmett had been in and out, and Esme had heard Jasper and Alice return together. She eyed a load of dirty laundry that she'd forgotten about from before and went to go tackle it, wishing now that it had caught her eye sooner.

The phone on the nightstand buzzed, and Esme scooted over, realizing immediately that it was a text from Carlisle giving her the weather report for the next six hours.

She smiled, though texted him a question mark back.

His response came back as: _Snow's going to taper off in an hour or two._

She hadn't fully comprehended. _Is that good or bad?_

_Sunrise?_ He wrote back.

Esme smiled to herself and wrote back. _Okay!_

She chuckled to herself and changed her clothes into something casual, but dressier than the sweatpants she'd been wearing. In the process, she completely forgot about the laundry and the next thing she knew, Carlisle was standing in the doorway.

"I thought you said I was right on before?" he said with a smile.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a smile even wider.

"I suspected you were under the covers in your sweatpants."

She giggled, "I thought I might up the class a little to jeans."

Carlisle laughed briefly and crossed the room to give her a kiss on the cheek. He moved his way toward the closet and pulled down a couple of older blankets that weren't used much anymore and grabbed Esme by the hand as she continued to fuss with her hair.

"Carlisle-" she laughed.

"You look fine," he said, "You always do."

"But-"

He silenced her argument with a kiss and felt her lips turn up into a smile in the midst of it.

"Can I get a ride?" she asked him.

Carlisle turned to her and smiled, throwing her on his back as he cuddled the blankets to his chest. He abruptly raced them out through the balcony and into the night. Only a second went by before they had reached the forest. Wind rushed over their bodies as he ducked under branches, racing through the night to the quiet, peaceful place the two of them had been visiting more frequently to enjoy each other's company and the privacy from the rest of the world.

Snowflakes glazed each of their faces, disappearing with little glistens left as kisses from the snow. By the time they reached their destination, the snow had picked up, or at least it seemed that way, though the altitude may have played a role as the snow drifted off into the ocean before them, disappearing as quickly as it fell.

When Carlisle set Esme's feet back onto the ground, she took a deep breath and brushed her hair back out of her eyes. She smiled at Carlisle's wind tossed hair, which always seemed to be the style left by nature on their trips up to the top of the cliffs.

"Miss me?" he asked her with a nudge, knowing the mood she had been in before he left for work.

Esme smiled, "Yes. Your crazy wife is becoming crazier."

Carlisle leaned in and kissed her, "As long as you're only crazy for me, I'm fine with that."

"So you admit I'm crazy?" she teased.

He grinned, decreasing the distance in between them, "I suppose that would make us both crazy, because you're all I could think about while I was at the hospital."

Esme accepted his sensual kisses and the soft touches of his hands as they grazed her face, neck and shoulders, dropping the blankets in the process.

Everything around her disappeared but him. She couldn't see the snowfall, the ocean or the beautiful scene that winter had created around them. She sensed nothing in the vicinity around them. The gentle breeze that fell over the high rocks they stood could have been virtually non-existent and Esme would not have known otherwise. All she felt was the smooth caress of Carlisle's hands moving with grace along her back beneath her shirt and the feel of his lips everywhere else.

She hadn't even realized the transition of him wrapping them both tightly together in the snugness of the blankets on top of the light bed of snow until he parted his lips from hers and sighed. Though the two of them were bound so tightly, Esme snuck one of her arms up toward his chest and unbuttoned his shirt, tossing it to the side as she successfully removed it from his upper body.

Carlisle reached over and scrunched it into a ball, then placed it beneath her head on the ground, "Don't want you to get your hair all... snowy."

Esme laughed lightly and let her palm rest on the side of his face for a moment while the other hand ran soothingly along his back. In the minimal room of the blankets, both of them were somehow able to escape the shackles of the rest of their clothing. Each of them took an extra second to admire the other, neither speaking until Carlisle initiated another kiss with a force that left Esme almost overwhelmed.

Everything about him suddenly rushed through her mind like a video in extreme fast forward; the first time she saw him, her awakening into her eternal life, the second time she saw him, the perfectness of his every feature when she laid eyes on him for the first time with her new set of eyes, their wedding, their honeymoon, their first anniversary and everything in between leading up to the current moment they were both experiencing together.

Esme held onto him like if she were to let go he would disappear. She continued to relish in every inch of contact from his soft, sleek hands that held her with the same care that rang in his voice every time he spoke to her. From the tenseness of her grasp, she thought she felt him wince and released his torso just slightly with an inhaled "I'm sorry."

Carlisle shifted himself slightly and smiled at Esme's quick, gasped apology from beneath him. He had no idea what she could possibly be apologizing for and in the moment he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Every moment they spent together was a reminder of how much she loved him. She didn't have to say it, her eyes usually did the talking as they looked at him in ways they were incapable of with anyone else, though it was the instances like the past week that left Carlisle feeling the depths of their connection. Esme had made it clear that she would not know how to go on without him, and the eruption of her deepest fears were thrown to the surface through a repertoire of heart-wrenching memories. He, too, felt the same way, though up to this point he was lucky enough not to experience how Esme felt for those twenty minutes or so when she thought he was dead. From the way she held him, he could sense that she was continuing to let the power of those emotions flourish inside of her, and they ran fluidly into his soul.

"I love you," he choked out to her.

Esme opened her eyes, only able to see the side of his face, as his lips now pressed against her neck, "I love you, too."

She took a second to finally acknowledge the world around them, as the snow fell down, decorating the dark colored cover and eventually stopped as Carlisle had predicted earlier in the night. Before the dawn, a few stars made their way to the surface of the black sky before the familiar glow of the sun eased itself onto the horizon in the distance.

They hadn't spoken much, just laid together unmoving. Esme could see the early morning hours creeping in as the sun was now about a quarter of the way above the water. She ran a hand through Carlisle's hair as he laid motionless by her shoulder. Only a small glow illuminated them, but his skin sparkled just slightly and Esme, now almost mad at herself, felt like she could cry from happiness at any second. She found herself wondering, too in depth, about what she could have possibly done to deserve a man so beautiful - inside and out.

"Why'd you apologize?" he asked, still not moving.

Esme found herself caught a little off guard, "What?"

Carlisle finally turned his face upward with a grin, "Why'd you apologize last night?"

"When?"

He chuckled and grazed her cheek with his thumb, "You said 'I'm sorry'".

Esme thought back for a moment, then it suddenly became known to her what he was talking about, "Oh," she giggled, "I thought I was hurting you because I was holding you so tight."

Carlisle put his nose to hers, then gave her a single, loving kiss, "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know," she whispered, swallowing hard.

"And I know it's not fair, because Alice's visions have had me in them on several occasions, and that whole time around Alexandra's birth..." his voice trailed off, then he continued, "I've never been told that something to that magnitude could have happened to you, and I've certainly never had to live through even a few second of thinking that you were gone." Carlisle shook his head, " I hope there's never a day I have to feel either of those things. I can't imagine... but I don't want you to worry either. I won't leave you ever again for any reason."

Esme stared into his concern filled eyes as he continued to glisten in the sunlight, "Okay."

Carlisle kissed her again, then rearranged them so they sat, still engulfed in the blankets, as the sun rose.


	11. Visions and Thoughts

**Chapter 11**

Carlisle and Esme walked slowly together back to the house, hand in hand, as night began creeping in again over the west coast. Their shoes crunched on top of the leftover snow from the dusting the night before and a cold breeze whistled through the trees.

Esme leaned into him and he let go of her hand to bring her body against his as they walked, throwing an arm tightly around her shoulders.

"What time is it?" she asked, looking up at the fading light in the sky.

Carlisle reached in the pocket of his khakis and clicked on the screen of his phone, "Five o'clock."

Esme chuckled, "I was suppose to go to Masen's this morning to bring them over a box of clothes for Cassandra."

He kissed her temple, "We can bring them over when we get home."

She squeezed his lower back with the hand that was slung around his waist and stopped to give him a kiss, "Thank you."

Carlisle grinned and embellished the last moment they would have alone together for the time being, "For what?'

"Everything you do. I love you. And I promise, no more crazy stuff from me."

He shook his head and took her chin in his hand, "Don't change anything."

Esme grinned and accepted one more kiss as they emerged back onto their property. A few illuminated windows and Alice's leftover decorations stood out in the dark, wooded atmosphere.

"Oh, Masen and Leah are here," Esme pointed out, "Great. I'll just give them their things now."

The two of them entered through the front door and just about everyone was home. Leah and Rosalie were cooking. Bella and Renesme were decorating the top of a vanilla frosted cake and most of the boys were scattered around the television, along with Alexandra.

Alice burst in the room upon hearing their arrival, "Finally!"

Carlisle raised his eyebrows, "Finally, what?"

"I've been waiting for you to get back," she said with her hands on her hips, "And so have Masen and Leah."

The two of them looked at each other, then back to Alice. "About the clothes?" Esme asked.

"Where'd you guys go?" Emmett asked with a smile.

"Hunting," they answered at the same time.

"Oh, is that what they call it now?"

Edward and Jasper laughed and Masen shook his head, "Eww."

"Oh, come on," Emmett said, hitting him on the arm, "It's art at their level. Look at how beautiful those two people are."

Alice looked back at him and couldn't help but snicker herself. She turned back to face her parents, "Ignore him. Masen, tell them."

"We set a date," he said, "In five months. Summertime."

"July eleventh," Leah called out from the kitchen.

"And we're going to have a Jack and Jill," Alice smiled, "Very soon."

"Masquerade themed," Masen added, "Because that's when Leah imprinted on me." He laughed at the way it came out.

Esme gave a subtle tug on Carlisle's shirt that no one else seemed to notice. Both of them smiled at everyone, who's eyes were all in their direction.

"I'm glad you have everything settled and picked out," Carlisle told them, "Alice, you were able to work your magic, I see."

She folded her arms in front of her chest, "You weren't doubting me, were you?"

"Never," he said with a grin.

"Where are you guys going to have the wedding?" Esme asked them.

"Here," Masen, Leah and Alice's voices came at once.

"If that's okay?" Leah added, darting into the living room.

Carlisle and Esme laughed, as they both nodded, "Of course," Esme assured her.

"Well, congratulations," Carlisle said, "I'm happy you've decided on a date." He kissed Esme on the cheek, "I'm just going to shower. I'll be back." He headed upstairs.

"Yeah, after eighteen hours of... hunting, I'd need one too," Emmett said, throwing in one last punch.

"Stop embarrassing our mother!" Alice scolded.

Carlisle eyed Emmett until he backed off and turned around then flashed a subtle wink at Esme as he reached the top of the stairs.

"Let me get those clothes for you, Masen," Esme said, rounding into the hallway towards one of the spare rooms.

He arched his neck in her direction, "You don't have to right this second."

"I'm just going to get a bag ready for you to take home with you later," her voice called back to him. She returned momentarily with two shopping bags full of baby clothes, all of different shades of pinks and purples. She put them by the couch next to where he was sitting.

"Thanks," he said with a smile.

"So where is she? With Sue and Charlie?"

Masen nodded, "They've been feeling robbed of time with her," he laughed. So we figured for a couple of hours while we ate dinner over here they could steal her.

Bella entered the room and flashed him a smile, "So, Charlie's having a good time with her huh?"

"Yeah," he smiled back, "He really loves her."

Edward pulled Bella into his lap and kissed her with a smile, then looked at Masen, "He was head over heels when Renesme was younger," he turned to Bella, "And he's a great father."

She nodded, and suddenly caught the look on Michael's face from the corner of her eye, making her overly eager to change the subject. Edward, at the same time, read his thoughts, along with Alexandra's.

"You want to get a poker game going?" he asked, knowing it would surely get an enthusiastic rise out of Emmett.

"Hell yeah," he said, "I'm in." He turned to Masen, "Hey where's the little wolf and the spawn of Aro been lately?"

"Sue and Charlie's," Masen explained, "Or... elsewhere. I don't know."

Edward chuckled at the way he referred to them and went to get a deck of cards, parting from Bella reluctantly as she tried to cling to him. He kissed her cheek and made his way to Carlisle's office where he'd last stashed a newer deck.

Carlisle's door was partway open and he had yet to get into the shower, catching the tail end of the evening news as she stood with the remote in his hand in front of the television.

Edward knocked lightly and went in as his father waved him in his direction. "Anything good going on?" he asked, eyeing the reporter that spoke trained and professional on the flat screen.

He shook his head, "Not in particular."

The two of them continued to stare at the screen before Carlisle turned to him, "Do you want to tell me something? Ask me something?"

Edward shook his head, "It's nothing major really."

Carlisle glanced at the open door and turned to face him, "What's nothing major?"

"Alice," he whispered quietly, "She's had a vision that's been changing involving Alex and Michael. When I mentioned Charlie just now, both of their thoughts went a little haywire."

"They still want to go see his parents?"

Edward nodded and shrugged at the same time, "I don't know that they necessarily would, but it's been heavy in their thoughts still."

Carlisle put his thumb and pointer finger on the upper bridge of his nose between his eyes and appeared to be thinking.

"I don't think it's much to worry about," he went on, "I just want to let you know what Alice told me. She was planning on telling you and Esme, anyway."

"Thank you," he said, "I'll have to sit down and have another talk with them."

Edward nodded and the two of them stood still for a moment, overhearing Esme talking with Michael and Alexandra about putting together the package for his parents. They both eagerly agreed to her requests and the three of them could be heard moving to another room in the house.

"Coincidence," Edward told him, "She was already planning on doing that with them tonight."

"What was Alice's exact vision?" Carlisle asked, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"Them boarding a plane. Us going after them."

The muscles in Carlisle's jaw tensed, though he remained calm, "I need to talk to them." He started to head out of the room, but Edward put a hand up, "See if Esme's idea works first."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Carlisle nodded in agreement. "Continue to keep an eye on that for me. I want you to update me all the time. If this package doesn't change anything, I have to talk with them."

"I agree," Edward said. He patted Carlisle on the shoulder once and went back to join everyone downstairs.


	12. A Man's Achillis Heel Is His Daughter

**Chapter 12**

The midafternoon sky was accompanied by a sea of gray clouds of all shades, eliminating the sun from the day's equation. The air felt like snow, though no precipitation was yet to fall in Forks.

"What did they think about the package for Michael's parents?" Carlisle asked, sitting across from Esme at a small table by line of large windows in the back of the house.

"It seemed bittersweet to Michael," she explained, "And Alexandra wants him to be happy. She almost seems more upset than he does."

"I wanted to wait until they were out of the house," he continued, "But last night Edward told me that Alice had a vision-"

"Of us going after them after they had boarded a plane."

Carlisle looked at her, then turned up his mouth in a smile.

Esme returned the expression, "Alice talked to me last night while the two of them were preoccupied."

"And Edward said that their thoughts were continuing to stray in that direction."

She put a hand over his on top of the table, "We'll make sure that doesn't happen."

Carlisle sighed and placed his other hand on top of hers, "How?"

"I don't think she'd do something so reckless without thinking, or talking to one of us first. Even if it were one of the girls and not you or I."

He looked her in the eye, "Even if it meant for love?"

Esme stared at him for a moment, trying to put herself in Alexandra's shoes.

"They don't completely understand the risks that are involved," Carlisle told her, shaking his head, "They can't possibly understand, despite what we've said, or else they wouldn't even be contemplating the idea."

She looked out the window, noticing a steady snowfall at begun, then looked back to Carlisle. His eyes, in that moment, revealed his entire life in a split second; the hurt, the loneliness he felt for centuries, the almost unwilling bonds he'd kept with the Volturi, death and pain and finally, what he had been talking about before, the power of love and how it changed him. Esme suddenly felt lost in his deep gaze.

"All I'm saying," he went on, snapping her out of her daze, "Is I can see where they may not take it as serious as they should. They both know Aro as Lucy's father, and someone who's helped us. They haven't witnessed what he's capable of and to be honest," he paused, "If I were in only the first year or two of this life and I didn't know any better, and you were the one who wanted something this genuine so badly... I'd do everything in my power to make it happen for you."

Esme continued to look into his eyes, unable to bring herself to look away. She realized how serious he was, and now found it easier to relate to her daughter's thinking. Carlisle was right. Had either of them been brand new to this lifestyle, having never experienced the wrath of such decision making, she knew for certain that she would do anything in the world him.

Their hands continued to lay on top of each other's on top of the table until Esme stood up and motioned for him to do the same. Carlisle made his way around the table and wrapped his arms around her in a long hug, then looked down at her and gave her a kiss before resting his chin on top of her head. She laid her head on the warmth of chest and closed her eyes.

"We'll keep an eye on their situation. Alice and Edward will know in advance if something was going to happen."

Esme sighed and nodded, letting her face move along the fabric of his sweater.

Out in the yard, Alexandra and Michael chatted quietly by themselves, using the soccer ball that danced between their feet as a distraction.

Alexandra looked over toward the window where her parents stood and her father's words rang through her ears. _I'd do everything in my power to make it happen for you._ She looked at Michael, who's posture was slightly sulky upon mailing the gift to his parents while he did his best to fight off the melancholy routine and act normal. Alexandra wanted desperately to make those bad feelings go away. She still felt helpless and knew that there was more she could do, thinking in depth about her mother and father's conversation she had just purposely overheard. Unlike Masen, she wasn't as appalled by their closeness. The older she got, the more she had wanted a relationship like theirs, and when she finally realized that her true love had been under her nose the entire time, she felt accomplished and complete. Michael, however, she knew was incomplete. Not because of her, but because of the void left in his life seeing he had been forced to leave his birth parents behind.

Across the yard, the two of them simultaneously saw Seth and Luciana arrive at the house.

"Hey!" Michael called to them.

Seth gave a friendly wave with a smile and Luciana called back, "Hey guys!'

Alexandra looked at Michael, grabbing his hand, and the two of them crossed toward the driveway to greet them. They all exchange quick hugs.

"I just got back from a visit with my dad," Luciana told them, "I was just coming over here to give his regard to your dad."

Alexandra looked at Michael out of the corner of her eye, thinking hundreds of different things. "Come on inside," she said to them, "You don't even have to knock."

The four of them crossed through the doorway into the house, each a little snowy from the weather as snowflakes decorated their hair and jackets.

Esme was the first to greet them with a smile, "Seth, Lucy!" her voice called, "I haven't seen the two of you in so long. I know you went out to a movie not long ago with these two," she pointed toward Alexandra and Michael.

"Yeah," Seth said with a wide smile.

"What have you been up to?"

"Same old, really," Seth told her, "I hope we're not imposing by just showing up out of the blue."

"Oh, of course not," Esme assured him, turning her head for a moment as Carlisle joined them by the door. She then refocused on Seth and Luciana, "How are you honey?"

Luciana made her way toward Esme for a hug, "I'm good. I just came back from visiting with Dad. He just made it a point that he wanted to send his regards to you guys."

Carlisle forced a smile, still mentally in the conversation he'd been having with Esme, "As always, send ours to him when you talk with him next," he said.

Luciana smiled, "I will."

"Well, come in," Esme went on, "Hang out. Watch a movie. Seth can I get you something to eat?"

His eyes looked shy, but his stomach won the battle, "Sure. If you don't mind."

"Come on," she waved him and Luciana into the kitchen.

Alexandra smiled at her father, "Seth loves Mom."

Carlisle and Michael both laughed, "I've noticed," he said, giving her a hug.

"I love you, Dad," she said, "Thanks for doing what you did for Michael's parents. Both of you."

"Thanks," Michael said with a nod.

"You're welcome," he said, "I'd like to speak with you both further regarding the subject, but we'll do that at a later time. Enjoy a movie with Seth and Lucy."

Alexandra smiled and did as he suggested, making her way to where their friends were before the four of them put something on that they all agreed on.

Carlisle stood with Esme in the kitchen, listening to the kids' conversations for a few minutes before they all virtually went silent as the movie began it's opening sequence.

"I have to go to work," he said quietly.

"Alright," she said, smiling at him.

He pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "I love you."

"I love you too Carlisle," she whispered back, "Things will be fine."

He remained with his arms around her with his head bowed by her ear and kissed her on the cheek once before finding her lips, "Double shift," he told her, "I'll be back around nine tomorrow morning."

Esme ran a hand up his back and found his face, "Be safe."

He nodded as she leaned in slowly, finding his lips again with her own. The two of them sensed Edward and Bella entering by the back near where they stood and Carlisle brought his lips back to Esme's ear, "I meant what I said the other night."

"What?" she asked him with her lips, too, hanging by his earlobe.

"I'll never leave you again. For any reason."

"You're leaving me now," she teased, causing him to pull back to face her. Esme laughed lightheartedly, "I'm kidding."

Carlisle smiled wide as she rested her hands on chest that slowly creeped behind his neck as she linked her fingers together. He pressed his eyes shut and gave her one last kiss before he left, turning his head slightly to the right as his lips parted from hers to see Edward.

"Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin and a wave, towing Bella by the hand behind him.

Carlisle looked back to Esme and smiled, then returned his focus to Edward, "You'll do what I asked?"

Edward nodded, knowing he didn't want to get into specifics with Alexandra right around the corner, "I have been since our conversation."

Bella looked back and forth between the two of them, knowing exactly what they were talking about. She, too, had a feeling that Alexandra might let her heart get the best of her and could all too easily put herself into her shoes.

Carlisle nodded when the conversation finished and patted Edward on the shoulder, gave Bella's forearm a squeeze and kissed Esme once more on the cheek before he left to go to the hospital.

Five thousand miles away, Aro sat in a tall, wooden chair with Caius to his left. He had seen things in his daughter and Seth's thoughts that were up for discussion, and Caius was just the man to provide him with another perspective.

"We've let them slide far too many times," Caius told him, "Sooner or later, something must be done. The expense may be great, but the message even greater. If we lost one of our own, it would hurt us, but if we killed even one of them, they would surely not challenge the laws we've lived by for centuries any further."

Aro nodded, "I do agree with you brother."

"Michael. We have to put an end to the threat his decisions pose to our kind. And Alexandra-"

Aro put a hand up, "It is not Alexandra-"

"She could be his accomplice," Caius cut him off, "She's just as much of a liability as he is. They both have to be stopped."

"Now, you must know that being in my position you cannot completely burn your bridges," Aro went on with a confident explanation, "Carlisle and I have known each other a long time, and he has, indeed, taken good care of Luciana."

Caius subconsciously squirmed at the mention of her name, still believing she was Aro's Achilles' heel. He wanted to protest, though decided another route, "Fine. Excluding the girl, we need to eliminate the threat of the other one before it even starts."

Aro tapped a finger on his mouth before nodding, "Yes," he concluded, "Something must be done."


	13. Jack & Jill

**Chapter 13**

The "Jack & Jill" party, thrown for Masen and Leah by Alice, had a similar ring to it from the last time their large, unorthodox family gathered there for a get-together. The difference of that night was, that Masen didn't even know that Leah existed, and she, at the time, had no particular interest in anything about him. All she had known was that Carilsle and Esme had, had a child supposedly due to magic of the Quileute 'legends'. Little did either of them know, at the time, how quickly their lives would change.

Alice set the place up almost identically, with lots of help from the rest of them. She'd spent an entire night and day setting the place up to match the night that Leah imprinted on Masen, and her creative work was a complete success.

The atmosphere she created was dark, but fun, with lots of stringy lights of all different colors. The DJ booth was set up where Masen and Seth had planted themselves for the evening the last time they were there, and several tables were set up along the walls with refreshments, mainly for the Quileutes and sparing humans that would be attending.

Across the way, furthest from the entrance, an elegant staircase was decorated with lights of Leah's chosen wedding colors and accented the mansion perfectly. On either side of the large entryway, Alice had made collages of the two of them, freshly decorated with new photos of Cassandra, as well.

On the wall to the left, a large clock with Roman numerals read nearly seven o'clock, and chimed seven times to indicate another hour had disappeared from the day.

Alice tapped her foot and looked at her sparkling, diamond watch. She stood by the open double doors with Jasper that towered over them. Each of them sported a similar outfit to the last masquerade party and she caught him taking extra peeks at her from the corner of his eye, smiling as she caught him the last time.

"I can't help it," he said with a smile, "You look... wow... I don't even know the word to use."

"Where is everyone?" she said, making a face beneath her shimmering mask that covered just her eyes. It blinked in the lighting with different glitters of silver and gold.

Jasper was about to enter when Masen charged them both from behind, hugging Alice hard enough where it almost knocked her off her feet. He planted a kiss on her cheek, "Thanks Alice."

She laughed and hugged him back with the same force to keep them from tumbling over together, "You're welcome, Mase."

Jasper smiled as Masen turned and gave him a handshake-hug combination, "This is awesome guys."

"We won't have to worry about Gianna this time," he said with a grin.

Alice frown at him, "Jas. Really? Knock on wood. No talking about her tonight. I don't want to upset Lucy. I don't even know if she knows about... that."

Leah's heels clicked over the empty mansion floors as she joined them by the doors with Cassandra laying on her chest, "I can't believe this Alice. It's wonderful."

"It's nothing," Alice told her, "I wish I could do this every day." She leaned in and hugged her, then kissed Cassandra on the cheek and forehead, "Someone's sleepy."

Masen took her from Leah's arms and cuddled her to his chest. A single cry left her mouth, and everyone anticipated another, longer one, though Cassandra settled back down and closed her eyes.

Alice played with her tiny feet, which were snuggled up in a pair of pink booties, "I love how little she still is. She's growing, but at a much slower rate."

"Yeah," he said, bobbing her up and down.

"He's going into the academy next week," Leah told them.

"Nice," Jasper said, excited. He looked over a few cars pulled up, but continued talking, "I should pursue a career as a Forks cop." He stiffened up his posture and looked at Alice with a grin.

"Yeah," Masen's eyes lit up with seriousness at Jasper's joke, "You should do it with me. That'd be awesome."

Sue and Charlie were among the first to arrive with Billy, Jacob and Renesme. They made their way up the stairs, all in costume and ready to celebrate early for the consummation of Leah and Masen.

"Hey Mom," Leah's eyes glowed, "You look gorgeous in that costume. You too Charlie."

"That was the plan. Look gorgeous," he joked back dryly.

Sue hugged and kissed her, "You always look so beautiful Leah," she smiled, then grabbed her face lightly with one hand, "I'm so happy for you."

Leah felt a little choked up at her mother's happiness and hugged her again, "Thanks Mom."

"And there's my grandchild," Sue went on, making her way toward Masen and Cassandra.

Jacob helped Billy up into the place as they, too, greeted the group of them by the large doors.

"Right this way, my lady," Jasper joked as Renesme walked past them.

"Why thank you, sir," she joked back, giving the two of them a hug as she entered behind Jacob and his father.

"I can't believe how old Nessy is sometimes," Alice said to him.

Jasper nodded, "Ours will grow even faster, don't forget."

"Ours," she grinned, secretly happy at his enthusiasm.

Jasper crossed to the other side of the doorway where she stood and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Get a room!" Emmett's voice boomed in the distance.

The two of them broke apart slowly and looked as the rest of their family arrived in a small group of cars.

"Don't be jealous Emmett!" Jasper called back.

"Oh, please," he said, reaching them both before everyone. He looked over their shoulders at the interior of the place, then grinned, "Nice work."

Alice held up her tiny hand to high five his giant one, which encouraged Jasper to do the same.

Rosalie followed in close behind him, taking his arm immediately as they strolled into the growing party. She took an extra second, pulling Emmett back to glance over the photos of Masen, Leah and Cassandra that Alice had put together with Alexandra the night before.

Alice saw her smile out of the corner of her eye and felt satisfied that she'd put them together nicely.

Alexandra and Michael, accompanied by William, Madison, Luciana and Seth, strolled up next, exchanging hello's. Alexandra gave Alice a nudge at their job well done with the decorations, and turned to give Bella a thumbs up, who strolled up slowly with Edward, Carlisle and Esme.

"Bella helped out with this?" Seth asked with a laugh, "Didn't know she had it in her."

"Every girl has it," Luciana told him with a smile. She leaned in a planted a kiss on his lips, while he continued to smile before and after.

"Em!" Alice called across the way, "Can you get the music started?"

"You got it sis," he said, pointing at her before dragging Rosalie across the floor with him toward the DJ table.

"Whoa, looks even better in the dark," Bella said to Alice. Her eyes reverted to the collages, "And those came out great. I didn't get a chance to see how Leah's came out."

"Well, that's someone else's fault," Alice said with a devious grin toward Edward.

Bella chuckled and looked down, grabbing Edward's hand.

"It was an emergency," he said with a fake sincerity. His eyes narrowed at Alice, and Jasper grinned.

A continuous beat started inside and Emmett successfully got some popular music playing for people to dance to.

"Man, how I love this music," Edward said sarcastically, turning to Carlisle with a smile.

He put a hand on his shoulder, "It's all about adaptation, son."

"I suppose," Edward said, holding his arm out for Bella, "Shall we?"

The two of them walked in past Alice and Jasper, who were still content on greeting everyone at the door.

"This is great Alice," Carlisle told her, kissing her on the cheek, "Has Masen thanked you?"

"A hundred times," she assured him, tapping her foot to the music.

"These did come out nice," Esme told her, pointing to the pictures, "You girls did such a good job setting this up for them."

"Just wait for the raffle prized," Jasper said, raising his eyebrows.

Alice sniffed in and looked out into the darkness, "I can always tell when a large group of wolves show up together. I've gotten used to the stench of a few of them, but there's got to be at least five or six approaching."

"Sam." Jasper whispered to himself.

"Emily's with him," Alice said. She turned to Jasper, then to Carlisle and Esme, "Those feelings are long gone on both ends."

"No reason to think otherwise," Carlisle told her, tipping his hat. He held his arm out for Esme, as Edward had for Bella, and the two of them walked inside while Alice got ready to greet some of the Quileute boys.

"Mom, Dad," Masen said immediately.

Esme held up a gift bag, "Where are these going?"

He rolled his eyes, "You actually got us a gift? You've already given us like a million things."

"Just tell your mother where to put it," Carlisle said with a smile, tapping his son's similar hat down over his eyes.

Masen smiled and readjusted his headwear, then pointed to a table where other gifts were scattered. Paul stood in front of it with his girlfriend as they placed a small gift box down in the middle of the ones that were already placed there.

"Thanks," Esme said.

"I'll go with you," Masen told her with a grin.

Esme smiled at his interest in joining her for the short walk and Carlisle smiled to himself as the two of them laughed all the way across the room and lingered by the table for a few minutes in conversation before making their way back.

Sue cut across the floor, meeting Esme about halfway between where he stood and the table. Charlie tagged along close behind and shook Masen's hand.

Rosalie quickly made her way over to where Carlisle stood, "I was talking to Leah," she said, "And I think I may take Cassandra home in a little while. I was going to offer to do it sooner, but I didn't want to be rude and miss the party."

He nodded and smiled, "Alright. Did you tell Emmett?"

"He knows," she said, looking across the room where Leah now stood alone with her daughter, "I don't want Leah to have to spend the night cooped up in the corner."

"Well, she'll be in good hands," Carlisle told her.

Esme, Sue and Charlie soon joined up with them, and Masen made his way to where Leah stood, attempting to have a conversation over the thumping of the music.

Rosalie looked at Carlisle and nodded before she made her way over to them.

"What's going on?" Esme asked him.

"Rosalie is going to take Cassandra home with her. She just wanted to make an appearance here for Masen and Leah, but she's going to babysit for the rest of the night."

"Oh, I could take her," Sue offered, "I don't want Rosalie to miss the party."

"She'll be fine," Carlisle smiled, putting an arm around Esme, "I think she'd prefer to be with Cassandra. William grew up so quickly so she didn't get much of a chance to have her baby time with him." He looked at Esme for a moment, then back to Sue with a smile.

Sue gave Esme a look and a shrug, knowing she felt the same way.

"Next week," Charlie said, "Masen starts the police academy."

"I know," Esme said with excitement, "He's so happy about it. Thanks, again, Charlie for helping him out."

He shrugged, "No problem."

"Yeah, it's a big step for him," Carlisle said with a nod. He looked around the crowd until he spotted his son, who was smiling and laughing with Emmett now by the DJ stand.

Bella and Edward slyly made their way in to talk with everyone and Bella handed Charlie a beer and Sue a glass of wine. Edward had his hands full with two glasses of wine, prepared by Alice, and gave them to Carlisle and Esme. He disappeared and reappeared within a second, and all at once he and Bella had their own glass.

"Cheers," he said, starting a toast with the five of them, "To family."

Bella leaned into Charlie, who smiled at his daughter and kissed her on top of her head, "To family," he repeated.

Edward smiled, looking over at his wife with her father, then gave an appreciative nod to Carlisle and Esme, raising his glass halfway a second time in their direction. The two of them returned the gesture and took a sip.

"Can I get a group picture?" Alice's voice called, running up to them with her camera.

Charlie began to sigh, then realized it was Alice who had asked and willingly positioned himself between Sue and Bella in the middle of the photo.

The flash went off and Alice was gone with a fluttering "thank you" as she was now about to gather Seth and Luciana for a picture.

"She's fast," Charlie said aloud to no one in particular.

Carlisle and Edward laughed together and nodded in agreement.

Across the way, Rosalie and Leah chatted quietly, before Emmett scooted over to them, kissed Rosalie a few times and handed her the keys to his Jeep as she made her way out of the party to head home. He scooted back to the table to continue his work as the DJ, playing any and all songs that people requested throughout the night.

About forty minutes went by before Masen got up in front of everyone with the microphone and started the raffle, giving away prizes to those who had matching tickets to the numbers he called out.

"This thing better not be rigged," Paul shouted with a smile, "I'm going to throw a fit if all vampires win these prizes."

Leah strolled up to Masen's side and slung an arm around him, taking the microphone, "He'll be fair."

"Yeah, yeah," Paul said, shaking his head, still smiling.

"If you'll all have a seat, we can get started," Masen said, looking right at him with a closed mouth grin.

Emmett cut the music completely and sat down next to Alice and Jasper with a fist full of tickets.

"First one is for..." Masen started, leaning over as Leah handed him an envelope. He took it from her and opened it, before waving two tickets in the air, "Two tickets for the Seattle Mariners versus the New York Yankees."

"Home game?" Jasper joked with a smile.

"Home game," Masen and Leah said at the same time. Masen then added with a smile, "Night game."

Everyone got a chuckle out of the comment before he reached into the basket of tickets that Leah held in front of him.

Bella looked at her dad, hoping he would be the winner of the tickets. He looked like he didn't care much from his expression, but she knew he would enjoy it.

"Five-oh-nine-six-four-one-eight-seven," Masen read aloud.

Everyone looked down, checking their tickets before Renesme stood up and held her ticket in the air, "That's me." She smiled and walked up as a few people clapped. Edward and Bella both smiled as she collected the tickets and sat back down next to Jacob and Billy.

Masen held up a package that consisted of three bottles of wine. A few of the boys whistled and laughed.

"The next number, for a few elegant bottles of wine, is..." Leah reached into the basket, "Five-oh-nine-one-one-three-oh-six."

Jacob chuckled and stood up, "It's our lucky night. Two prizes."

"Rigged!" Quil shouted from across the way.

Jacob continued to smile wide and shrugged as he accepted the gift and brought it back to Renesme, giving her a kiss as he sat. Renesme whispered to him before she stood up and headed up to Masen, now whispering in his ear.

"Oh, well since Nessy and Jake got two prizes, she would like to donate the Mariners tickets to..."

"Charlie and Sue," Renesme said with a smile.

Bella grinned, thinking of alike her and her daughters' thoughts were.

"No, no," Charlie waved his hands, "You two enjoy it."

"It's payback for the bike you bought and gave back to me," Jacob called over to him.

He sighed and looked at Sue, accepting the tickets reluctantly as Renesme kissed him on the cheek.

"Hold 'em up Charlie," Leah called.

He shrugged and put the two tickets above his hand while everyone clapped.

The raffle went on as people collected gifts and had a few laughs until Emmett started up the music again and everyone filtered back into the middle of the overabundance of space. Leah and Masen opened gifts a short while after, then made their way around and thanked each group, or couple, as the night progressed.

The large clock on the wall rang eleven times, signaling the hour and Emmett spoke into the microphone, "The last song of the night is going to be a slow one. So grab someone close and if you don't have a dance partner, I'll fill in... but you might have to deal with the wrath of Rose."

A few people laughed.

"This one is for Masen and Leah," he continued on a more serious note, "I wish you both all the happiness in the world."

Masen smiled over and put his hand up as the music began. He pulled Leah to him, starting the dance off with a kiss, then moved them both together to the music.

Emmett stayed in his position behind the DJ station with his arms folded across his chest and a genuine smile.

Esme lead Carlisle onto the floor in the middle of everyone and smiled as they joined up for the last dance of the night. "Look how happy they are," she whispered to him, pointing toward Masen and Leah.

He smiled and nodded, following her stare, "They're going to be fine."

"Yeah," she smiled wide back at him.

Carlisle pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek. He noticed Alexandra and Michael talking with smiles as they danced. She pulled him close and hugged him tightly in the middle of the dance.

"She looks so much like you," he whispered in Esme's ear, referring to Alexandra. He turned them slightly so she could see their daughter.

Esme smiled, "They look happier."

"Happier than lately," he agreed.

"I think they're going to be fine, too," she told him, playing with the brim of his hat.

Carlisle shifted his eyes upward and smiled, bringing his lips to hers once, "You look beautiful," he said, speaking directly into her ear.

"You don't look all that bad yourself," Esme said with a laugh. She looked into his honest, happy eyes, "I love you."

"I love you," he said back, winking as he did so.

Esme looked back at him adoringly and enjoyed the last couple minutes of their dance.


	14. Fifty Babies

**Chapter 14**

All of the chaos and preparation for Masen and Leah's wedding outweighed Alexandra's thoughts about Michael's parents for the time being. She was overly eager to help Alice with any and everything she could possible volunteer for. Michael, too, found himself heavily distracted and though the thought crossed his mind every now and then, he was able to put it to the side because of everything that was going on.

About a month and a half had passed since the Jack & Jill, leaving them in the beginning of May with about two months until the wedding.

Esme crossed through the kitchen and noticed that the other date Alice had been waiting for had finally arrived. Small "X"s were placed in the top right corner of every box of the calendar days leading up to the random Thursday night that no one outside of their family would have given a second thought to. It was May the tenth and a total lunar eclipse was expected to take place later in the evening. Alice had been so nonchalant about it on the outside that most of them hadn't been bugging her or Jasper about it. Inside, however, Esme knew that her daughter was eager to have a child of her own.

She looked up at the clock, seeing as the evening was quietly creeping in, though you'd never know it because of the extended daylight hours upon setting the clocks several weeks before for daylight savings time.

"Five more hours," Alice whispered through cupped hands around her mouth, noticing Esme looked up at the clock.

Esme crossed her fingers and smiled at Alice.

"Five more hours until what?" Jasper asked, pretending to be serious as he entered the room and slinked himself behind Alice.

She turned her head and scrunched her nose in a playful glare as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"It'll happen," Esme told them, "I have a gut feeling."

"I hope your gut feeling is right," Alice said, "I'm ready for this."

"You're going to make a great Mommy," Esme told her.

Alice smiled and Jasper kissed her on the cheek, "Mommy," he repeated.

"Okay, okay," she said with a chuckle, breaking apart from him temporarily, "I have done a great job at not getting my hopes up for this, so no more talking about it. I know I started it but-"

Jasper quickly wrapped her against his body again, "If it doesn't happen, then we'll try and try again." His voice was light and accompanied by laughter, "Alright?"

Alice squirmed around in his arms then gave in, "Alright."

"Good luck," Emmett told them, rounding into the living room with Rosalie. His tone was serious, though he gave them each a smile.

"No jokes?" Alice asked suspiciously, twisting her mouth up into a half grin.

"He's too scared of me to make jokes," Jasper said, eyeing his brother.

Emmett snickered, "No jokes. I promise."

Rosalie leaned into him and smiled at Alice, "You're going to love being a Mom. I can't even begin to describe the feeling."

She smiled and nodded.

"Have any names picked out?" Esme asked.

"We're finding it hard to narrow it down," Alice told her with a laugh, "But there are a handful of each gender floating around in our minds."

Carlisle and Edward entered through the front door together laughing about something before noticing everyone standing together in a tight circle.

"Is everything okay?" Carlisle asked them, noticing everyone had stopped talking upon their entrance.

"Oh, yeah," Alice told him, "Just talking about the, uh..."

"Eclipse," Emmett whispered.

"Oh, yeah," Edward said with a grin, pretending to forget.

"Where's Bella?" Rosalie asked him.

"At Renesme and Jacob's," he told her.

"I hope your get your wish Alice," Carlisle told her, "The two of you deserve it."

"Yes they do," Rosalie said with a large smile.

Alice laughed, as did Jasper who still clung to her tiny frame.

"It's about time you joined the club," Emmett said, nudging Jasper in the arm.

Carlisle made his way over to Esme and draped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a 'hello' kiss in the process.

"Hey, I got an idea," Emmett said, looking around at all of them, "After Jasper catches up to us, I say we see who can get to fifty kids first," he looked to Edward first, then Carlisle and back to Jasper, "What do you guys think?"

Edward was the first to laugh, followed by everyone else.

"Fifty?" Even Rosalie couldn't fathom the idea.

"I think it'd be hard to stay under the radar if there were a combined two hundred more of us running around Forks," Carlisle said, looking down at Esme.

"So you're throwing in the towel already?" Emmett asked him, "I thought you might take me up on it since you'll still be up by one kid on all of us."

Esme laughed, and Emmett's joke seemed to lighten Alice's tenser mood as she joined in on the laughter.

"You all think I'm kidding?" he asked, "What if we live another thousand years? Two thousand? Three... You're telling me fifty kids is impossible?"

"Em," Rosalie said with a snicker, "You're not the one giving birth don't forget."

"That's what Masen's for, babe," he said back, shaking his head as if it were obvious. He turned his head back to everyone else, "Carlisle, come on."

He shook his head with a laugh, "I'm throwing in the towel now, as you said."

"Really?" Esme asked him, looking up at him

He laughed again and shrugged.

Emmett reached over and high fived her, "That's the spirit."

"What would the winner get?' Edward asked, smiling.

"Fifty kids," Jasper and Alice said at the same time, then started laughing.

"We could come up with something," Emmett told him, now actually pondering the idea.

"No," Rosalie said with a laugh. She hit Emmett lightly in the chest, "I'm setting the bar at... ten. Could you imagine worrying about that many children?"

"They're not kids for that long," he pointed out.

"I still worry about William just as much now as I did when he was just born."

He nodded in agreement, "Fine. Ten."

"Oh," Alice said, "And just so everyone knows. If things work out, I'll have the baby about a month before the wedding."

"So we won't steal their thunder," Jasper finished.

"Oh, please," Esme said, "You're not stealing anything. You're going to have a baby."

"Maybe," Alice said.

"Definitely," Rosalie told her.

"The wolves screw up my visions now, since they're kind of family and all," Alice told them, "I can't even see anything clearly down the road."

Carlisle looked up at the clock and Alice answered him before he could ask, "Around eleven," she explained.

"You're better at reading minds than I am Alice," Edward told her.

"Add it to the list of things she's better than you at," Rosalie shot at him.

He shook his head, "You've got it coming Rosalie."

"What, you don't think I'm better than you at everything?" Alice teased, bumping him lightly on the leg with her foot.

Edward snickered and shook his head again.

"Well, go get ready," Emmett urged, "Jasper. Bring your 'A' game."

Jasper saluted him with a nod.

"We've got a few hours," Alice said, "Just make your wishes around eleven."

"Yes ma'am," Emmett said.

Jasper and Alice hung out for the remainder of the evening, trying to pass the time before they eventually disappeared into the night.

Everyone remained scattered around the house, doing their own thing, as Alice had politely asked them to do, making quiet wishes to themselves rather than get together in a large group as people had done for Rosalie and Emmett.

Carlisle and Esme sat out on the back deck, playing a game of War with some playing cards, though neither of them seemed to really care about the outcome. Every now and then both of them checked their phones, and Carlisle his watch to see what time it was.

He flipped a card over, revealing a jack and smiled at Esme as she was yet to reveal hers. "What do you have?" he asked, eager to know.

"Hmm..." she teased him, holding it in front of her face so he couldn't see it.

Carlisle laughed lightly as she slowly flipped the card around.

"Queen," she told him, sliding it onto the table, taking his Jack as she did. Her pile of cards was thickening, while his had continued to get smaller over the last ten minutes or so.

They smiled at each other as he flipped another.

"King of hearts," Esme said, looking at the card beneath his fingers, "That'll be hard to beat."

Carlisle continued to grin, suspecting she knew what her next card was from the underlying confidence in her voice.

"Oh, would you look at that," she said playfully, "Ace of-"

"Spades," he finished, pushing his card toward her, "You stole my heart."

Esme laughed and went to accept the card from him that he continued to press firmly into the table with his hand. They both stared across at one another with equally playful expressions, trying to be serious until Carlisle chuckled and released the king.

She took it and placed the card at the bottom her pile.

Carlisle leaned himself across the table and kissed her, sighing as she took his face in her hands.

"You stole my heart a long time ago," she told him with another brief laugh, "It's about time I return the favor."

The two of them shared a short series of kisses and some playful affection before Carlisle sat back down on his side of the table. Esme checked her phone again before they resumed the game. At the same time, Carlisle glanced down at his watch.

"Should we now?" Esme asked him, looking up at the sky for the moon.

He turned his head and looked upward, "I guess it's as good of a time as any."

The two of them put in a special wish for Alice and Jasper, hoping the two of them could experience the same, new happiness that the rest of them had. The fate of their immediate future was now in the hands of the moon.


	15. A Mystery For Now

**Chapter 15**

"No!" shouted Caius, "No more talks. No more settling things with words..." He stormed around the main room of their underground Italian dwelling, "As your brother, and accompanied leader of our kind, I believe you should take my thoughts into consideration. Things have to go back to the way they were. We've come this far in our lifestyle, hundreds upon hundreds of years, without being threatened. Now, threats lie all around us. We cannot continue to back down and be soft."

"Soft, brother?" Aro questioned calmly, "Why, we recently destroyed a whole colony of vampires lead by that ignorant twit Olivia, who then we also proceeded to destroy. I would hardly call that soft."

"You know exactly who I am referring to," Caius argued, "Carlisle Cullen and his family. Luciana has completely changed your abilities to think clearly on the matter."

Aro stood up, towering over him just but an inch or two, though made his dominance clear, "If you'd like to make this the topic of discussion, I would be glad to."

Caius, as unafraid as he truly was of Aro, backed down, smartly knowing that their coven would never make it should they stand divided. It was a main reason why he chose not to pursue most of the bones he had to pick, as of recent years, with their leader. The phrase "divide and conquer" was self explanatory, and he was not about to be the one to make the split would allow others to conquer.

"I just think we need to act, and act aggressively. In fact," he went on, "I take that back. I don't think it, I _know_ it."

"The children have yet to break a law," Marcus chimed in solemnly.

"So, what., Caius went on with force, "They've had it in their thoughts according to Luciana. It's only a matter of time."

"Let them break the rules first," Aro told him, "Then we'll act."

"Then we'll act?"

He nodded once with a smile, "Let them give us a reason, one that even Carlisle himself cannot argue. That way we can bring justice to our community without breaking the bonds of... friendship."

"Pray for their souls," Marcus said aloud.

"Pray for ours," Caius said angrily, rolling his eyes.

"Brothers," he smiled, "It's long past that. We have no souls to pray for."

Jane entered momentarily upon the conclusion of their short conversation, "They're here."

Aro put his hands together in front of his chest and smiled, "Oh just in time. I've suddenly become very thirsty." He turned and smiled to Caius, who was able to give Aro a smirk in return. Marcus remained monotone in his expression as the three of them stood to greet their visitors.

Unlike Volterra, Italy, the atmosphere in Forks, Washington was upbeat, happy and overly enthusiastic - at least in the Cullen household. Upon a few swift kicks from inside her stomach, and finally a concrete vision of Jasper holding onto a little one, Alice was confirmed pregnant just after the break of dawn that Friday morning.

Bella was the first to hug her upon confirming the news, "God, I'm so happy for you Alice."

Alice squeezed her tightly and closed her eyes, "Thanks, Bella."

Everyone made their rounds to the happy couple with their own affectionate gestures.

"I didn't even know I could be this happy," Alice said, unable to hold back a smile, "I think was too focused on the fact that it might not have happened that I didn't stop to really contemplate the possibility of it actually happening."

"Boy or girl?" Esme asked them, knowing Alice had already seen the future.

Edward opened his mouth to speak, already reading the answer from her thoughts, but Alice rushed over and put a hand on his mouth, "It's going to be a surprise," she teased them all, then looked back to Edward with a scowl, "For some of us."

"Hey, it's not my fault," he laughed.

"You _cannot_ do this to us," Rosalie said, overemphasizing the word.

"Sorry, sis," Alice grinned, "I'm keeping it a mystery."

"Does Jasper know?"

"Of course I know," he told Rosalie with a wink.

"Well, he is the baby-daddy," Emmett said with a laugh.

"Not fair," Rosalie told her, continuing to smile.

Alice shrugged and everyone continued to talk about the good news.

"I hate to have to do this," Carlisle said, "But I have to leave for work. I'm happy for you both and I'm glad you'll get the opportunity to be parents." He hugged each of them individually.

"You'll be my delivery man right?" Alice asked him.

"Unless you want a better doctor," he joked.

"There are none," she smiled and hugged him again.

"She's looked into it," Emmett joked.

Carlisle took an extra second to part ways with Esme by the front door, "I'll bring a little something home for them," he told her, then kissed her on the cheek.

"Okay," she said, "I love you. What time will you be home?"

"Somewhere around five," he explained, tapping her chin with his thumb.

"Alright," she said with a grin.

Carlisle leaned in and kissed her, "I love you. Have fun with everybody."

"I will."

Alexandra and Michael pushed their way through the bushes and ran in through the door, "I just got Alice's text!" Her voice was excited and she let go of Michael's hand, running right in between her parents without saying much of a 'hello'.

"Alice!" she called.

Michael smiled, ducking politely between the two of them, and walked a little slower to allow Alexandra the first few seconds with her sister.

"Masen and Leah are on their way over," Alexandra told them, "And I'm pretty sure Seth is, too, with Lucy."

"Where are William and Madison today?" Jasper asked, then answered his own question as the light bulb went on in his head, "Oh, yeah. School."

Bella clung to Edward, as usual taken back down memory lane at the thought of Forks High School.

"I like the name Jeremy," Alice said under her breath, waiting for a response from someone else in the room.

"So it's a boy, I knew it!" Emmett said.

"But I also kind of like the name Nicole," she added, smiling devilishly.

Emmett and Rosalie both snickered, and he shook his head.

"It's a boy," Emmett state, folding his arms, "I know it's a boy."

"We'll see," Alice teased. She leaned into Jasper.

Carlisle and Esme laughed together at Alice's teasing, and Emmett's quick jump at her set up. They stared at their family, experiencing the same joy that was radiating out of everyone else at that moment.

Esme turned and hugged him harder than she intended to, "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, rubbing a hand gently down her back.

"For our family."


	16. Alice Stays In

**Chapter 16**

The weeks went by and Alice's stomach got bigger and bigger. Although all of the Cullen women were petite, Alice was the smallest of them all, and so the gigantic bump on her stomach looked even more out of place. Jasper was at a point where he barely let her take a step without being with an arm's length unless he was out hunting for her.

Rosalie, Bella, Alexandra and Madison were all in out of the rooms around the house, each in a unique dress and looking for accessories to go with their outfits.

Alice frowned, making her way toward the couch where Carlisle and Esme sat watching television. Jasper followed her with a smile and looked at Carlisle with a grin and shrug at her pouty expression.

"What's wrong Alice?" Esme asked and she plopped down on the couch.

"I want to go to Leah's bachelorette party."

Esme couldn't help a snicker, and Carlisle looked at Jasper, letting out a laugh of his own.

"Really, though," she said, "I can make it out there. I even bought a maternity dress last week at the mall for it."

Jasper tried to keep himself from talking, but the comment he had on the tip of his tongue slipped out, "You can't fit in it _this_ week, though Alice."

She turned to give him a glare, and did the same to Carlisle as he couldn't help but laugh at Jasper's choice of words.

Esme nudged him with her elbow and hit his chest lightly with the back of her hand.

"We'll take lots of pictures," Rosalie promised, appearing out of nowhere to throw her arms around her sister, "Just remember, you're going to have a babyyyy."

Alice managed a smile, despite trying to hide it and let it grow even wider as Rosalie kissed her on the cheek.

"Wooo! Time to party!" Emmett's voice boomed throughout the house. He clapped his hands and emerged into the living room dressed up with Masen by his side. Edward, Seth, Jacob, William and Michael filtered in just behind them.

"Oh my God," Alice said slowly as a grin spread across her face.

Carlisle and Esme turned to see them all. "Wow," Esme said, "You all look like-"

"The Mafia," Rosalie finished with a laugh.

"Where's everyone going?" Carlisle asked, "I thought you were taking a trip up toward Canada to hunt."

"We're hitting the scene first," Jacob said smiling.

"Have to accommodate to the wolves," Edward said, pointing a thumb in Jacob's direction.

"Where's Leah?" Esme asked.

"At the house getting ready with Nessy and Lucy," Jacob answered.

"We're going to pick them up in a few minutes," Bella said, smiling, then noticed Alice's half frowning expression, "It won't be the same without you Alice."

"Thanks Bella," she said with a shrug.

"I'd trade places with you," Rosalie told her, "Any day." She kissed her sister on the cheek again.

"When should we expect you all back?" Carlisle asked.

Emmett slid over to Rosalie, "Well, we've checked into a hotel room a couple towns away. So not for a few days." He smiled wide and raised his eyebrows quickly twice in a row.

Rosalie laughed and put a hand on his chest.

"T-M-I," William said, "Don't need to know that."

"I'm glad someone can feel my pain," Masen told him.

"I forget how it grosses you guys out," Alice said with a laugh, "No one used to care much."

"Except when Carlisle and Esme kicked out Rose and Emmett," Edward pointed out.

Emmett let out a high pitched and Rosalie scowled at him, though a smile slowly spread across her face. William made a face and looked at Masen, who was laughing too.

"We didn't kick them out," Esme said with a smile.

"Ohhh, come on, don't try to be nice about it now," Edward said, laughing, "Carlisle..."

He shrugged and smiled without saying anything.

"See," Edward said with a nod.

"Hey, at least we don't think no one can hear us if we turn the volume up on the television," Emmett said, looking at Carlisle and Esme.

Jasper keeled over in his seat with laughter and Alice broke into a giggle fit.

"Get out," Carlisle said with a laugh, waving his hand toward the door, "Goodbye Emmett."

"Nightmares if I could have them," Masen said under his breath as he turned toward Seth.

"Let's go girls," Rosalie said the row of beauty queens that stood beside her in the living room. She turned to Emmett a said discreetly, "I'll call you when we're done."

He squeezed her shoulder as she passed and looked back toward the rest of the guys, "Ready?"

"Ready!" Seth said eagerly.

Jacob laughed, still thinking of him as sort of a little brother and looped an arm around his neck.

"Be safe," Esme told them.

"Bye, guys," Alice said with a pretend pout.

Jasper and Carlisle both waved everyone out and the four of them sat in a much more silent atmosphere than the moment before. The only sound was that of the movie, rather than of everyone running around, talking, half yelling and, at times, chanting.

Esme looked at Carlisle and shook her head.

"What?" he asked with a smile.

"Does that volume thing on the TV really work?" Alice asked.

"Apparently not," Carlisle told her, unable to keep himself from grinning.

Jasper snickered again and couldn't keep a smile from his face.

Esme shook her head again and turned to Alice, "Any discomfort yet, or anything?"

"A little," she admitted with a nod, "But nothing too bad."

Jasper still sat on his own couch and Alice decided to join him. He immediately placed a hand on her stomach and gave her a warm smile.

"So how many arrests do you think will occur tonight?" Jasper joked, looking toward Carlisle and Esme.

"None," Alice answered him, "Masen graduated from the academy, remember?"

Carlisle snickered, "With that whirlwind of a crew, I don't know."

"Let's not underestimate them," Esme said, looking at all three of them.

There was a moment of silence before everyone laughed.

"Emmett's the ring leader," Alice reminded her, "Don't forget."

Esme turned her head to face Carlisle with a smile, "Maybe we ought to warn Charlie... just in case."


	17. A Beautiful Family

**Here's another movie trailer for Moonlit Skies if anyone wants to watch... youtube dot com/watch?v=3dx603LChd4 (I cant paste in the actual URL) if anyone has any feedback for that, too, that'd be cool! :) **

* * *

**Chapter 17 **

"One more Alice," Carlisle said calmly, "You're about there. I need one more."

Jasper stood on one side, holding Alice's hand to keep her calm, while Masen dulled the pain of the delivery on the other side. The rest of the family waited, as they had for everyone else's babies to arrive, close by in the hallway and in the living room.

Alice would have looked far too calm to any human woman who ever delivered a baby. She took the time to breath in a few times before she gave all of her energy into the push that brought her child into the world.

A loud crying sound got everyone's attention at once, as everyone was overly eager to catch a peek of the baby.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Emmett asked, with Edward asking the same thing about simultaneously.

"Hold on a minute guys," Carlisle's voice came as he got the child wrapped in a small blanket before handing it over to Alice.

Her laughter was happy and emotional and she cuddled the tiny child to her body, "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh."

Jasper squatted down and placed a hand over the crying baby's head.

"Jas," Alice said with a smile, accompanied by tears of joy.

He leaned in and kissed her, wiping the tears away with his thumb.

"My first real cry!" she said, causing more tears to run down her face.

Masen looked at Carlisle and smiled before his father got Alice together and let the rest of the family into the room.

"It's little Nicole," Jasper told them, unable to keep the happy expression from his face.

Esme looked at him, now near the foot of the bed to let the rest of the kids see the baby first. Jasper's eyes were unlike anything she had ever seen in all of the years she'd known him. They sparkled with a pure happiness and astonishment, almost as if he was realizing something for the first time. Esme suspected it was a new type of love that existed only between parent and child, and she was happy that Jasper was able to feel something so great.

"Her hair is a combination of both of theirs," Esme said with a smile, "It's sort of a bronze. Almost like Edward's."

Carlisle nodded, "Lot of hair."

"I know," she agreed, "For a newborn baby."

Everyone took their turns showing affection to Alice and Jasper's baby and she finally accepted her back into her arms, then looked at Esme, "It's your turn Mama."

Esme smiled wider and reached for Nicole, "She's beautiful. Look at her little nose. Alice, I can already see your face in hers."

Alice smiled and Jasper clutched her hand tighter. The two of them shared a quiet couple of seconds communicating without words before they shared a short, intimate kiss.

"Here you go," Esme said, "I won't steal her away."

"That's Rosalie's job," Emmett said from the doorway. He leaned an arm on either side, "Congrats you guys. Welcome to the club."

"Thanks," they both said happily.

"I can't believe we have a baby," Alice said aloud, shaking her head once, "It's so surreal. It doesn't seem real yet."

"Enjoy those baby days," Rosalie said, ducking beneath Emmett's arm, "I love you guys so much."

Alice blew a kiss in their direction then looked down at her daughter, "Hello my little Nicole."

"Now, we wait to see if she has a gift," Edward told them, also ducking beneath Emmett's massive arm.

Everyone smiled and seemed to continue to stare at Jasper, who was unable to remove his gaze from his newborn baby. It looked like he had been put in a trance.

"Daddy's girl, look out!" Emmett said with a laugh.

Jasper finally looked up and snickered, then shook his head and asked Alice if he could take her. She happily agreed, though it was apparent she didn't want to part from Nicole just yet.

"Well," Carlisle said to them, "We'll give you some time alone with her. Call me back in when you need me, Alice."

She smiled, "Thank you so much. That was probably the easiest delivery in the history of the world. Thank you."

He returned the smile, affected by their elated moods, "You're very welcome."

Esme followed him out of the room and looked over her shoulder at the three of them. Their overabundance of joy gave her a feeling that nothing could ever go wrong again. She had never seen either of them in the state they were currently in, even Alice, as bubbly as her personality was naturally.

"Good all on the boy, Em," Masen teased with a laugh.

"Fifity-fifty shot," he said, "I better not go to a casino any time soon."

"Unless Alice is with you."

Emmett laughed, "She's in no condition."

Masen nodded, "True. You're out of luck."

"I can't wait to see if she has a gift."

"Yeah, me too," Masen agreed, "I'm sure she will."

A few hours passed and Alice was slowly making her way back toward a full recovery, though was still a little more sluggish than normal. Jasper had volunteered to hunt for her again, and currently she said with Nicole in her arms in the comfort of the most comfortable couch in the house.

Rosalie was at her side, constantly rubbing her tiny hands and feet. "I've never see you so happy."

Alice kept her eyes on her baby, "I had no idea I could feel like this."

The birth of Nicole had brought everyone together again. Their family felt satisfied and complete knowing that Alice and Jasper were able to go through the same thing they had all been lucky enough to.

Esme and Carlisle joined them together, holding hands until Esme let go to take a few pictures. "Someone has to take your place at snapping photos," she told Alice with a wide smile.

Rosalie moved out of the way of the shot, but Alice quickly pulled her back in to be close to her.

"Don't you want just-"

Alice silenced her, "Noooo. I want you in the picture. Smile."

Rosalie laughed and Esme took the picture of the two of them with Nicole.

Carlisle leaned over her shoulder to see how it came out on the small screen before Esme adjusted them again to take a few more.

"This is just the beginning," she warned, "We're going to make a nice scrap book for you."

Jasper returned, calling Alice to go eat and had already filled a few bottles with blood for Nicole. He took her out of her arms as she kissed him several times in a row before disappearing into the backyard with Rosalie right on her heels to make sure she was okay.

"Thank you guys," Jasper said, letting his daughter accept the bottle, "Thanks for, just, everything."

Esme kissed him on the cheek, "We're so happy for you Jasper."

"From where I came from," he went on, shaking his head, "I never thought a day like today would ever come. Back then, I felt like I truly was damned. Like that was my fate - to be a monster." His eyes were serious, "I owe to you both for this amazing, amazing day, and this life that I've come to be so grateful for."

Carlisle recognized the slight glisten in Jasper's eyes that he was trying to adamantly to fight. He looked at Esme, and she wrapped her arms around Jasper, causing a single tear to fall from the corner of his eye as he looked back down at Nicole.

"You're a great man, Jasper," Carlisle told him, "You deserve all the happiness in the world. You've overcome so many obstacles in your life. Enjoy all of this."

Jasper took in a quick deep breath, then let a smile spread over his face and he mocked himself, "I can't believe I just... shed a tear."

"It's okay to cry," Esme told him, grinning.

He scrunched his nose and shook his head playfully, then turned and looked at them again, "Thanks."

Carlisle nodded and put an arm over Esme's shoulders. Alice and Rosalie returned momentarily.

"Can you guys take one of me and Jas with Nicole?" she asked, looking at Esme.

"Of course," she said, grabbing the camera again.

Alice and Jasper looked at each other with smiles before focusing in on the lense in front of them as Esme counted to three. She quickly showed them how the photo came out and thought to herself, _what a beautiful family._


	18. I Understand

**Chapter 18**

Carlisle laid in the center of his bed beneath the covers with a stack of two pillows beneath his head. He'd left on an episode of Law and Order that was part of a marathon and looked over at the clock on the nightstand that read one thirty. He hadn't bothered to turn on any lights, as the flat screen that hung on the opposing wall gave off enough light for his liking.

Downstairs he heard Esme and Rosalie passing around Nicole, each making comments about the adorable new addition to their family. Alice's voice was frequent in the midst of their conversation, though Carlisle knew she had been working on wedding plans with Leah when he had walked upstairs earlier.

A phone rang, and immediately he recognized the ring tone as his future daughter-in-law's. Her voice confirmed it as she quietly told Alice it was Masen on the other end.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't even realize it was one-thirty in the morning," she said to him with a laugh, "I'll be home shortly."

Carlisle snickered to himself, not thinking anything of it at how late she'd not only stayed, but stayed awake. The thought sometimes went over his head that the Quileutes needed their six to eight hours just as much as humans did.

"Emmett," Rosalie's voice called, "Walk Leah home."

"I'm fine," her voice assured Rosalie.

"Leah Clearwater..." Rosalie's voice was playfully threatening and then a laugh escaped Leah's mouth.

"Put me down," she cried out in the middle of a fit of laughter.

"Let's go," he ordered, parading them out the front door.

Carlisle heard the front door open and close before he focused momentarily on Esme, Rosalie and Alice's conversation. They continued to gush over the baby until he sensed that Jasper had intervened to steal her away.

His eyes fixed back onto the television screen, finishing off a commercial before the show he'd been watching came back on.

As the show progressed to it's climatic scene, Carlisle's thoughts drifted momentarily to Masen and his career choice. He had finished the police academy and applied at several places, but was yet to hear back. There was currently no openings with the Forks Police Department, but Charlie was putting in good words for him everywhere and had more or less assured him that two older deputies would most likely be retiring by Christmas. He hoped his son would be fortunate enough to work besides Charlie, and also that nothing bad would come it. Charlie was an honest man and a good police officer. Masen was lucky to have him as a mentor.

Esme entered into the room and caught the last few minutes of the fictional trial that was about to end the episode Carlisle had on.

"Hmm..." she said, squinting her eyes, "He looks guilty."

Carlisle laughed and pointed at the screen, "I think you're right."

Thirty seconds or so went by until the man Esme had suspected was handcuffed and escorted out of the courthouse.

"I knew it," she said with a smile.

"You're good."

Esme nodded and admired Carlisle's bare upper body for a second from where she stood, then smiled, "Two weeks from today until the wedding."

He let out a deep breath, "Yeah."

"I can't get enough of Cassandra and Nicole," she told him, "Isn't it hard to believe that there aren't enough hours in the day to have enough time with either of them?"

"Make it easy on yourself," Carlisle told her, "Cassandra days because she sleeps, and Nicole nights."

"You're smart doctor," Esme told him.

"So I've been told," he joked.

Esme removed her shoes and set them aside by the closet. The beginning of the next Law and Order began with it's overly familiar theme song.

"Anything good?" she asked, trying to catch his attention as she changed into a pair of comfortable shorts and a tank top.

He shrugged, "The last episode was alright."

"Hmm.." she said aloud.

Carlisle switched his gaze to her and pushed himself over a little so there was enough room for her to join him.

Esme smiled, "You can have it to yourself."

"I don't want it to myself," he said, grinning back.

"You sure?" she teased, "You seemed comfortable."

"I'm sensing _you_ may be the one who doesn't want to join _me."_

Esme smiled and made her way across the room to slide in beside him. He removed one of the pillows from beneath his head to place on her side of the mattress.

A smile slowly spread across his face as she quickly realized he had no clothes on. A laugh immediately rang through her body and Carlisle snickered.

"How long have you been waiting like this?" she asked him.

"About forty-five minutes," he admitted.

Esme looked over at the door to make sure it was closed, feeling him stroke the strands of hair closest to ear.

"So, everything's pretty much perfect," Carlisle said, knocking on the wooden headboard with his knuckles, "Jasper and Alice have a healthy baby. Masen and Leah are about to get married..."

"Yeah," she nodded, sliding down so her head rested on the pillow, "Pretty perfect." She repeated his actions of knocking on wood and closed her eyes, then added with a laugh, "I wish we could fall asleep again."

"Sleeping isn't what I had in mind," he whispered to her, watching her grinning expression slowly turn more serious and focused on him as he began to string kisses along her collarbone.

Esme held the side of his head with one hand with her eyes still closed as he carefully undressed her, never taking his lips off of her body. She suddenly wished that the house was empty so the two of them could be as a carefree as they had been at their secret sunrise location. His touches made her shudder and it took all of her will power not to let her approval of his actions leave the confines of their bedroom. Esme could tell he was attempting to do the same.

Carlisle drowned out his deep exhales by muffling his mouth onto her shoulder or the pillow. In the moment he found himself able to relate to what Esme had felt during the week she was admittedly more emotional than normal. He had taken an unwilling trip down memory lane since Jasper had thanked he and Esme for, in part, taking him away from his old life. Over the past few days he thought, perhaps overly so, about how Esme had saved him. It wasn't anything new, but there was never a second in the day where he wanted to be apart from her. The elementary fact that she wanted to be with him, and only him, in this fashion suddenly seemed like an overpowering thought. He knew that he was, indeed, the most blessed man on the earth.

Esme guided Carlisle's lips to hers and felt his hands and legs shaking slightly as he was the first of the two of them to give in a release a moan into her mouth. She could always tell when his emotions were higher than normal, and though he was much more subtle about it than she was, the slight shakiness and palpitations of his typically steady hands were enough to let her know what he was thinking.

Three and four o'clock rolled around before Esme finally got out of bed, throwing a blanket from the edge of the comforter around her.

Carlisle gave her a look that made her melt, as is face twisted with disappointment. "Why are you leaving?"

Esme wanted to smile, but couldn't, sensing the vulnerability in his voice, "I just was going to remove some of the makeup from my face." She walked toward the bathroom, feeling a hint of butterflies in her stomach at his eagerness to keep her beside him. Some things held no candle to time, and their love was one of them. She still looked at him with the same eyes as she had when she first realized she was in love with him.

Before she could even hit the light switch on the bathroom wall, Carlisle had his arms wrapped around her from behind and kissed her cheek with his eyes closed.

She glanced up at their reflection, focusing on his facial expression. The same rush of butterflies filled her stomach as she watched his eyes brows crease when he pulled her slightly closer.

"Carlisle," she whispered.

"Esme, I love you," he said in her ear, "I need you. I know how you were feeling before."

"When?" she asked, wanting to turn to face him but not wanting to separate herself from him as his lips caressed her neck as he spoke.

"When you said you were afraid to lose me. I want this forever. For eternity. I don't want it to end... ever."

"Carlisle-"

"I know how selfish that is," he continued to whisper, "But I fear the thought, too... of not having you. I don't think I handled it properly when you said it to me. I just want you to know that I understand."

Esme turned to him and wrapped him in the blanket with her, then pulled his lips to hers forcefully, again feeling his deepest emotions surface from their connection. She let out a sigh as he settled both of his hands loosely on her hips. "From the turn of events," she said, breathing in, "I think we're on a clear path in that direction."

"I hope so." He looked her in the eyes and took her mouth again with his.

Esme felt high under his emotionally driven touches, but felt a twinge of fear, herself, from the lack of sureness that rang in his last sentence. Both of them knew all too well how a turn of events can suddenly change.


	19. A Gentleman's Game

**Chapter 19**

"Let's go!" Emmett's voice called, "The wolves are going to get to tee off first."

Carlisle and Edward each threw a set of golf clubs in the back of Emmett's Jeep, joining him and Jasper in the car.

"Take the front," Edward offered, opening the left side door that lead to the back seat.

"Is Masen meeting us there?" Carlisle asked as Emmett put the car in drive. He slammed his door shut and gave a wave to Esme and Rosalie who were both actively working on a garden.

Jasper blew a kiss to Alice who sat neatly on a small, typically decorative bench, with Nicole on her lap. She waved the baby's hand as the car passed by.

"All the youngin's are," Emmett told him, "Masen, Willy, Michael and Seth is their fourth."

Carlisle nodded and let his hand hang out the window to feel the breeze created by the speed of the vehicle.

"Remember Emmett," Jasper said from the back, "Golf is about finesse. You can't use your strength to win this game. It's a human's course."

"It's a Quileute course, a little longer," he reminded him.

"Still," Jasper said, "We're playing a scramble, the best ball between the four of us we use. I don't want to have to carry you all the way to the eighteenth hole."

"I bet by the sixth Emmett throws a club," Edward laughed.

"Just wait," he said, shaking his head.

Carlisle snickered a few times at their conversation and messed with the radio until he found a song he didn't mind.

"I don't think I've ever played a full round of golf," Emmett went on, "I bet you're good at it Carlisle. It is a gentleman's game, right?"

He laughed and looked over, "I suppose."

"Carlisle and I have played," Edward said, "Not for a long time, but from what I remember I was only slightly better than him."

Carlisle let out an appreciative laugh and turned to face Edward, "We'll see if the tables have turned over the last fifty years."

"So, this is the last day that Masen's a free man," Jasper joked, "Are we going to be home in time for the rehearsal dinner? Well..." he rephrased, "The rehearsal. Dinner will happen much later." He laughed at his own semi-joke and looked out the window.

When they arrived at the private golf course, Jacob was the first to greet them, overly dressed as the part of a typical golfer. He took off his hat and tipped it in the direction as the four of them exited the car.

"Well if it isn't Arnold Palmer," Emmett ribbed with a laugh.

"We have the place to ourselves today," Jacob told them, "We got it reserved specifically because Leah was getting married tomorrow."

Carlisle walked up and shook his head, "How are you Jacob?"

"Good doc," he teased, "I hope you all brought your A game. We've been practicing."

"Practice," Emmett continued from behind the car, "We don't need practice." He peeked his head out and pointed and Jacob with a quick one syllable laugh.

"Who's in your group of four?" Carlisle asked him.

Jacob looked upward as if he were thinking while he answered, "There's me, Quil, Jared and Embry. Then of course Masen's group of himself, Seth, Will and Mike."

"We're playing best ball?"

Jacob laughed, "Yeah. Otherwise we might be here all day."

Carlisle grinned and let out a laugh, following Jacob as Emmett handed him some golf clubs.

"We have two golf carts for you guys," he explained to them, "Split up however you want."

"I think we could have handled the walk," Jasper told him with a grin.

"It's just for fun," Jacob told him, "Besides, the pack wouldn't want to outrun you guys and leave you behind."

Emmett was about to make a comment but Carlisle silenced him with a smile, waving his hand, "Thank you Jacob for setting all of this up."

"It's my pleasure," he said with a grin, "You guys can follow me down over here. That's where everyone else is."

The four of them followed Jacob to where, as he had said, everyone else was getting ready and playing around in their respective carts.

They rounded the corner to see William slam into the back to Seth's car.

"Hey!" Seth called, at first being serious, then turning his scowl up into a grin, "Cut it out, man."

"William!" Emmett shouted.

His son laughed, "What?"

Emmett shook his head and caught a set of keys that Embry tossed to him. "Thanks."

Masen walked over and greeted everyone, "Ready?" He looked at Carlisle with a smile.

Carlisle nodded, "I hear you've been practicing."

"A little," he said with a shrug.

"Good luck," he said, patting his son on the back, then decided to take place in the subtle trash talking that had been going on, "You're going to need it."

"Ohhh, yeah... right," Masen said with a snicker.

Carlisle laughed and joined Edward as he waved him toward the car he was already driving.

"Here," Jacob walked over with a map of the place, handing it to Carlisle, "Start on the sixth with Emmett and Jasper. Masen's group is going to start on one. We'll start on twelve."

He flipped the map around, tracing it with his finger to quickly figure out the quickest way to their destination, "Easy enough. Thanks Jacob."

"Good luck," Edward added with a smile.

"Don't need it," Jacob said, raising his eyebrows, "When you're good, you make your own luck."

Edward laughed and took off, calling back to Emmett, "Follow us. We're starting on six."

"Good luck kiddos," Jasper said to Masen, William, Michael and Seth as they passed.

"Yeah, yeah," William called, twisting his baseball hat slightly to the side.

"That's my boy," Emmett joked, barreling over a few bumps in the landscape.

When they got to the sixth hole, Emmett jumped to drive first.

"Ease up on the hit," Carlisle told him, "Put just a small amount of your power behind it."

"I got it," Emmett said, focusing on the ball that sat about an inch above the ground.

Edward looked at Carlisle with a smile and Jasper couldn't keep himself from grinning.

Emmett took a big swing, sending a loud swooshing sound into the air as his head followed where the ball should have been.

Jasper started a chorus of laughter from the three of them as Emmett cursed, sensing his ball hadn't actually left the tee. He sucked his teeth and glared toward the ground.

"It's not the ball's fault," Edward teased.

"Shut up, Edward," Emmett said. He composed himself despite their continuous banter and let the ball sail through the air, taking a more controlled approach. A slow smile spread over his face.

Carlisle, Edward and Jasper followed, in that order, then went to compare who'd hit their ball closest to the green.

"Em, you got it," Carlisle told him, "Hit from where Emmett's ball landed."

"See guys, have a little faith in the big guy," he told his brothers.

"Let's see how you chip," Jasper said.

The four of them spent the next several hours laughing and having a fun "guy's day", before joining back up with everyone else where they'd met earlier in the day to retrieve the golf carts.

Jacob's group of four had arrived just a moment before they did, and ten minutes or so later, Masen's team finished.

"It's about time kids," Jacob joked, taking their score card as he continued to take the lead on what he was beginning to refer to it as "Project Golf'. He glanced down at the scores and gave them a look, then shook his head.

Michael and William looked at each other and laughed, with Seth and Masen remained with strait faces.

"What?" Seth asked.

"Our of eighteen holes you got seventeen hole in ones?" Jacob asked skeptically.

"Yep," William said, trying to keep from laughing.

Masen nodded seriously, then a grin spread across his face and he pulled out another piece of paper from his pocket, "Here."

Jacob snatched it from him with a grin of his own and scanned their scores, "That's more like it."

Masen and Seth looked at each other and shared a laugh.

"So who won?" Embry asked him. He stood on his toes and looked over Jacob's shoulder.

"Figures," he said aloud, shaking his head.

"What?" Edward asked him.

He shook his head again, "We tied. You guys and us. Shot for shot."

"What about us?" Seth asked.

Quil and Jared laughed, looking in at the scores, "You were about five shots behind," Jared taunted, "Sorry Sethy. Maybe next time."

"No way," William challenged.

"Yes way," Jared told him, "Check out the papers."

"So what do we do then?" Jasper asked.

A light rain began to decorate the golf course and Jacob shrugged, "Uhh..."

"Edward and Jacob," Carlisle suggested, "One shot from the first tee. Whoever's closest to the hole wins."

The two of them looked at each other, and smiles spread across their faces.

"Why not you Carlisle?" Edward asked.

"Because you're the better golfer, son. Remember?"

Edward let out a laugh and Carlisle laughed with him.

"What are you scared?" Jacob sneered.

"Give me a club," Edward said, eyeing him.

Everyone made their way toward the first tee off spot on the course.

"Flip a coin to see who shoots first?" Seth asked.

"You can go first Jake," Edward said.

"Don't mind if I do."

Jacob marched up to the marker, placing his tee down and setting the ball on top. He took in a deep breath, concentrated hard as the words of the Quileute boys encouraged him. A moment later, he let the ball sail up toward the first green, settling just a few inches away on the fairway.

Jared let out a whistle, then looked at Edward, "Don't overshoot."

Edward smiled and set himself up. He aligned himself up perfectly with the ball and got ready to shoot. Everyone remained silent, though he took a second to look and noticed the tenseness on Jacob's face, as well as the rest of the boys in the tribe. They looked intent on winning and it almost looked like they were about to be in the final moments of the PGA tour. From the corner of his eye, he noticed how carefree Carlisle and Jasper looked. They both stood relaxed, each with a smile, and Emmett was half into it, half paying attention to whatever William was saying.

From their thoughts, he sensed it was far more important for the Quileute tribe than it was for his family, and Jacob had gone through all the trouble of setting up their fun, little scramble of a tournament. A second later, he took the shot, watching it sail past the green and into the sandpit that sat just behind it.

Jared, Embry and Quil jumped up and down with a few cheers and Edward shrugged, "Overshot it." He looked at Carlisle with a grin, who he suspected knew he purposely blew the shot.

Carlisle smiled back, then walked over to Jacob and shook his head, "Good shot, Jacob. Thanks for putting this together for us."

Jacob smiled wide, "You're welcome. We should do it again."

"Yeah," Emmett agreed, "Rematch."

"Any time," Jacob told him. He looked to Edward, who also shook his hand.

"Nice shot," Edward told him.

"Put a little too much into yours," Jacob said, a little suspiciously.

Edward shrugged, "I probably shouldn't have hunted on the second to last hole. Maybe then I wouldn't have put so much into it."

The two of them stared at each other for a second, then chuckled. "I'll see ya at the rehearsal," Edward said, patting him once on the shoulder.

Jacob nodded and joined his friends.

"Guess we need some work," Masen said, approaching his father.

"You're fine," Carlisle told him, giving his son a hug, "We've just got some techniques down from being around for so long."

Masen laughed, "Well, I guess I'll see you at home tonight then. For the thing."

He nodded and pulled him in for a second hug, "I'm proud of you, Masen."

Masen snickered, "For what?"

"For everything. For growing up so quickly into a great man."

He nodded and looked around, "I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, son."

"We should come out here some time," Masen told him, "Just me and you. Play a round."

Carlisle nodded, "Any time you want."


	20. Masen and Leah Cullen

**Chapter 20**

Masen stood at the altar, continually adjusting his collar and nervously running his hand over his tie. Every so often he felt his hair to make sure it was still in place and caught himself rocking back and forth from his toes to his heels.

The wedding parties on both sides were of above average size. Neither Masen, nor Leah, could narrow it down and so almost everyone was included whom they were close with, though only Emmett and Seth, as well as Alice and Alexandra would be joining the two of them at the alter. The rest of the groomsmen, including Edward, Jasper, Jacob, William and Michael, had chairs waiting for them in a front positioned segregated row. Leah's bridesmaids were to be lined up directly across from them.

The priest holding the ceremony signaled a start, calling for Emmett, Masen's best man, to enter in his position beside the groom. He smiled and walked up beside Masen, whispering lightly, "Relax, man."

A smile spread across Masen's face and he nodded as Emmett gave him a solid pat on the back.

As the music started, each of the couples made their way down the isle, beginning with Jasper and Rosalie linking arms. They looked strait ahead and smiled as people took pictures. Emmett snickered lightly to himself, watching the two of them make their way to the end, flashing his wife a wink and smile as she took her place and stood directly in front of her assigned chair.

Michael and Luciana were the next two to walk, while William and Madison strolled arm in arm closely behind. The next two were Renesme and Jacob, then Edward and Bella, who all parted ways just before the alter.

Alexandra walked down the isle, smiling wide and took her position up next to Leah, leaving a space for where Alice would stand, who was the last of the wedding party to also make her way down the isle solo. She smiled at Jasper and brushed his hand with hers as she past by.

Carlisle and Esme walked down together next, each looking genuinely happy about their son's wedding day. Carlisle put an arm behind Esme's back as he allowed her into the row first. She kissed him quickly on the cheek as they watched Seth escort his mother down the isle next with a perfect smile. He then joined Emmett and Masen on the alter.

The crowd of guests then returned their attention to the back of the isle, where Leah stood with Charlie. The traditional music began to hum as Leah took in a visible deep breath and took Charlie's arm. He, too, looked just as nervous as they made their way step by step down toward where Masen waited.

"Thank you for doing this," Leah whispered, swallowing hard to keep herself from letting a tear fall.

"You're welcome, kid," Charlie whispered back.

Leah looked around nervously and tried to keep a smile on her face as they inched closer to the altar. Her stare suddenly met Masen's and his cool smiled eased her a bit. She looked to Charlie again as the two of them came to a stop and he lifted her veil.

He leaned in closely and whispered, "Your father's watching down on you."

Leah's eyes watered up, but no tears fell. She hugged Charlie and whispered another 'thank you' in his ear before he guided her hand to Masen's.

Charlie looked over, taking his position in the arrangement and made eye contact with Bella as she stared at him with a smile. He nodded and swallowed hard, then gave his daughter a fatherly wink before continuing to pay attention to the ceremony.

Esme squeezed Carlisle's hand, though couldn't take her eyes off their son as the priest began reciting the lines that would formally unite Masen and Leah as husband and wife.

Smiles decorated the crowd, consisting of a countless number of tribe members, the Denalis, as well as Benjamin and Tia, who were currently in the practice of the Cullens' lifestyle choices, though each of them still struggled with it a bit. Days prior to the wedding a number of cards were sent to their home, all congratulating Masen and including a personalized gift, though many of the invited guests had to decline due to their meal choices and the personnel attending.

Masen and Leah looked in each others' eyes, repeating each phrase the priest read aloud. His face was light and free, never shifting from a soft smile at his bride, while hers was emotional, happy and almost overwhelmed at the thought that all of this was for her.

"Do you, Leah, take Masen to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for as long as you both shall live?"

Leah looked at Masen, as his face slightly tensed up. She smiled, and hoped her voice did not shake, "I do."

Masen looked up at the priest, who nodded and signaled for him to slide the ring on her finger. He smiled and looked at Leah with another soft smile before taking her hand carefully in his, placing the band securely where it belonged.

"And do you Masen, take Leah to be your lawfully wedded wife..."

"I do," he said.

The priest smiled and Emmett chuckled next to him from his immediate answer before the sentence could be finished. He continued the remainder of the line and Masen repeated the phrase before Leah slid his wedding band on his third finger.

Everyone waited, and a few pictures were snapped before the words "you may kiss the bride" were finally released over the crowd.

Masen smiled wide with a perfect set of teeth as Leah pulled him to her lightly with one and the two of them shared their first kiss as a married couple in front of their families.

Everyone began to cheer and clap, as Masen grabbed Leah by the hand and lead her down the isle, being instructed every five yards or so to pose or kiss for a camera.

Carlisle and Esme looked at each other happily and shared a kiss, and a long hug. Across the way, Esme noticed Sue being handed Cassandra, as she eagerly accepted her granddaughter into her arms. Tears of joy fell from her eyes, though she tried to hide them as she made her way back down the isle, letting out a little laugh as she passed by, squeezing Esme's hand in the process.

Everyone took their turns walking back down the isle before the place cleared out and everyone got ready for the reception.

"This is going to be fun," Emmett said, nudging Alice as the bridesmaids and groomsmen waited at a specified location to get called out in front of everyone.

Alice nodded and looked around the crowd.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked, tapping her from behind.

"I don't see Nicole," she told him.

Jasper turned her slightly, placing his hands on her shoulders, then pointed. He felt Alice let out a small sigh of relief as she noticed their daughter securely in Esme's arms at one of the tables.

"Okay, we are ready to introduce the wedding party," the DJ's voice called out, who was a friend of Jacob's that frequented his garage to get work done. Popular music began to play to go along with their entrances.

"Give it up first for the lovely Rosalie and Jasper!"

Emmett and Alice looked at each other with goofy smiles as their significant others made their way out together, each putting on their unique five seconds worth of entertainment for the crowd, who clapped and smiled at their entrance.

Michael and Luciana, as well as William and Madison, made somewhat normal entrances, running through waving at everyone with smiles.

"Jacob and Renesme..." the DJ's voice called.

Everyone laughed as he darted out in the middle of everyone with Renesme on his shoulders.

Edward and Bella looked at each other, each shaking their head, but laughing all the same as their names were called next.

"Now we have the brother of the bride, and sister of the groom. Put your hands together for Seth and Alexandra!"

The two of them looked each other and each put on a pair of matching sunglasses, striking poses all the way down before he twirled her once as they joined up with the rest of their friends and family.

Carlisle looked over at Esme and shook his head with a contagious laugh that left Esme and Sue laughing, as well.

"Those are our kids," Sue said, still chuckling.

"Next we have our best man and maid of honor, let's hear it for Emmett and Alice!"

Alice ran out a few steps ahead of Emmett, as he put his pointer fingers up on the top of his head to resemble a charging bull. She then proceeded to pretended to wave an invisible flag by her side as he ran through it, and she moved out of the way.

"Oh my God," Rosalie's voice came with a laugh, "They are nuts."

Everyone got a good laugh out of their routine before Emmett scooped Alice up off of her feet and placed her in Jasper's arms.

"Here's the moment you've all been waiting for. Put your hands together and make some noise for our bride and groom, the beautiful Leah and Masen Cullen. Congratulations!"

Everyone stood up and cheered as Masen and Leah ran into the party to the DJ's music, holding hands and smiling as they went.

Jasper and Emmett cheered wildly above everyone else, leaving the atmosphere loose and fun.

Masen kept his arm securely around Leah and grabbed the microphone from the DJ, "I just want to thank everyone for coming," he said, almost sounding as if he were out of breath, "And for everyone who put this together for us. Now... have a good time!" He kissed Leah and everyone began clapping as the music got louder again.

Everyone got settled in, finding their respective tables if they weren't already sitting, and sat through the events of the night - some fun, some emotional and others a little of both.

Esme leaned up against Carlisle, taking in several deep breaths during Masen and Leah's first dance. He kissed her temple and smiled down at her. Sue and Charlie stood next to them, with Charlie now holding Cassandra. He kept squeezing the top of Sue's shoulder as tears fell from her eyes that she kept wiping away with a napkin from the table.

Leah looked elated and free in Masen's arms as they moved to the music, enjoying every second of the dance together, before kissing and parting for a moment upon the conclusion that lead to the next series of dances.

"Come on, Mom," Masen called to Esme.

She smiled, releasing Carlisle's hand and kissing Leah on the cheek as she made her way for the traditional mother-son dance.

Masen snickered as the song began, "Don't start crying on me."

"I'll do my best," she said with a laugh back.

Carlisle found himself choked up as Masen and Esme danced together. He could tell from her face that she could cry at any second, though held it together well during their three minute song in front of everyone. He could tell that their son was saying things to keep her smiling and quietly thanked her as the song faded out. Masen kissed his mother on the cheek and followed her off as Leah and Charlie made their way up next.

"I'm not all that great of a dancer," Charlie told her.

Leah smiled, "Neither am I."

The two of them shared a laugh before Leah got serious again, "Thank you for this Charlie. I never thought about any of it, but I'm happy to have you here since Dad can't be."

"I hope you don't feel uncomfortable dancing with me because of that," he said quietly.

"No," she said right away, "No. This is nice. I'm happy to dance with you, and just as happy to have you give me away. You make my mom so happy."

Charlie gave her a closed mouth grin.

"I know he's looking down at us now, probably laughing at how stiff we look."

He laughed, "Probably moreso about what I look like in this suit."

Leah chuckled before she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

From the crowd, Sue smiled and put a hand over her mouth from the slight look of surprise on Charlie's face. She knew even the slightest displays of affection made him a little self-conscious.

When the dance ended, the DJ went directly from serious to fun, playing lots of upbeat music for everyone to dance to before the speeches were made, the bouquet was thrown and everyone had, had a little more to drink than their typical evening.

Alexandra gushed, having caught the bouquet that Leah threw over her shoulder and kept asking Alice if she thought it was true that it meant she would be married next.

Carlisle overheard Alexandra's continual questioning of the situation and looked at Esme, "I don't know if Alex and Michael are ready for-"

Esme put a finger over his lips, "Let her have her fun. She's got wedding fever after tonight, that's all."

He smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be the dad that takes the fun out of it, huh?"

Esme shook her head with a smile.

Carlisle kissed her once and looked on as their united families partied the night away, no one caring who was a vampire, who was a werewolf or who was a human.


	21. Big Steps

**Chapter 21**

Alexandra was yet to part with the bouquet she caught at the wedding as she sat in a chair in the backyard where the party had long since died. A few lights were still strung and provided the area with a small amount of illumination so she was not sitting in complete darkness. Pieces of half eaten cake were scattered about the empty, ruffled tables that hours ago were perfectly neat while they awaited their guests.

The summer air was thick, and Alexandra could feel a slight change by the humidity though it did little to affect her.

"Alex," Esme walked out to join her daughter in the dimly lit yard and slid into the empty seat next to her.

"Hey Mom," she said with a smile.

"Whatcha doing? Where's Michael?"

Alexandra turned and smiled, and Esme thought she looked beautiful at that moment. Her smile was true and elated, though her eyes were shy and reserved, "He's out hunting with the boys."

Esme could tell her daughter was eager to get something off of her chest, though didn't pry.

Alexandra's eyes scanned the lingering beauty of the reception around them, "Masen and Leah are on their way to the island right now. He can go out in the sun there?"

She nodded, "One of the only places any of us feel... safe enough to do that for an extended period of time."

"Dad got you that as a gift?"

Esme smiled, "It seems extensive, I know."

"No it doesn't," Alexandra said, shaking her head, still looking around, "He loves you."

She nodded and looked to where her daughter's eyes roamed the tree tops.

"Alice is so good at this," she said with a chuckle, "I love decorating with her."

"She really is," Esme agreed, puling her toward her by her shoulders. She kissed her forehead, and Alexandra leaned into her mother.

"Maybe one day we can go to Isle Esme," Alexandra said.

"Of course. I mean, you were just a baby when you were born there," Esme started.

Alexandra laughed, "I don't want to make you feel bad, but I meant with Michael."

Esme smiled and looked at her daughter, "You really love him."

She nodded and straitened up in her seat, "I do. I wish I knew how he felt about me from the beginning so I wouldn't have wasted my time on that idiot, Peter."

"Well, maybe your experience with Peter has helped you truly to appreciate how wonderful Michael is."

Alexandra thought for a second and looked at Esme, "Do you feel that way about Dad? I mean, after your marriage as a human? I just feel completely stupid for even, ugh, I don't know."

"Don't dwell on the past, honey," she told her, "It makes us who we are, no matter how painful it is to look back. You're happy now, and you found someone who loves you just as much as you love him. You deserve to share that happiness together."

She sighed, "You don't think I'm just a sucker for love, do you?"

"A sucker for love? No."

"Do you think Michael is right for me? This time, do you think I'm making another mistake?"

"I don't think you're making a mistake," Esme told her daughter seriously, "But it doesn't matter if I think he's right for you. Do _you_ think he's right for you?"

"Yes," Alexandra answered right away, "Yes, I do. I really do." She looked down, "I just don't want to get hurt again. I want what Masen and Leah have... what you and Dad have. I want a beautiful wedding like this; right here."

Esme smiled, "Michael loves you, and if you love him like you say, I know your dreams will come true."

The two of them shared a look before Alexandra leaned over and hugged her, "Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome," Esme said back, "I love you, honey. You are so beautiful."

"You're gorgeous," she said back with a laugh, causing Esme to do the same.

They both stood up together and Esme began to walk back toward the house, then looked back at her daughter.

"I'm going to wait out here for Michael to get back."

"Okay," she said wit ha smile.

"Thanks," Alexandra said again.

"You're welcome."

Esme made her way into the house and Alexandra heard her immediately start to chat with Alice about Cassandra's sleeping arrangements.

The night was still young, from a vampire's perspective. It was a little after two o'clock in the morning when the group of boys arrived home, a little wilder than normal.

"Alex!" Emmett called, charging her and scooping her up over his shoulder.

"Em!" She hit his back a few times, "The dress! Come on!"

Michael and Edward strolled in behind him, sharing laughs and Jasper arrived not long after.

"Where's William?" Alexandra asked as Emmett set her feet back onto the ground.

"Where do you think?" Edward ribbed.

"He's at home with Madison," Emmett said, making a face, "With Garrett and Kate."

"Weren't they going back to Denali for a few days?" Jasper asked with a wink to Michael.

Michael laughed, then quickly stopped as Emmett shot them both a look.

"Oh, don't be scared of him," Jasper told him, now winking at Emmett.

Bella and Rosalie quickly joined them outside and linked up with their respective men.

Edward leaned in and gave Bella a series of kisses before he whispered in her ear and she nodded with a smile.

Rosalie, too, was being overly affectionate with Emmett and within a matter of ten seconds and a brief excuse of a goodbye, the four of them were gone, leaving in opposite directions.

"I guess it's time for me to be Daddy," Jasper told Michael and Alexandra with a grin, "Goodnight kids."

"Night," Alexandra said to him at the same time as Michael.

They watched as he went inside to join Alice and Nicole.

Michael held out his arm, "Shall we walk?"

Alexandra nodded and slung her arm through his. The both looked back briefly as the doors to Carlisle and Esme's balcony opened and the two of them began to talk and laugh together about the day that had just passed.

"Come on," Alexandra tugged on Michael's arm and dragged him away into the woods.

"Alex-" he said with a laugh, as she began to rush him away from the house. She wasn't sure where she was going but her feet didn't stop. Her fingers linked with his and she took it as trust that he didn't ask questions or let go of her hand.

When they made their way, to which neither of them initially realized, to La Pushe Beach, Alexandra finally stopped and faced Michael.

He smiled wide in the darkness, "Are we at La Pushe?"

She nodded, "Not really planned, but yes."

Michael looked around and before he knew it, Alexandra's lips were against his and he felt all the rest of his thoughts go away. They stood together, making out beneath the rare, starry night alone on the beach. He altered his thoughts between 'yes' and 'no' as a part of him wanted to slide the straps down off of her dress that presently clung to her shoulders. He was pleased, yet anxious, that she was the one to make the first move.

Alexandra slid her hands down toward his torso and took in a deep breath, unsure of what to do next.

Michael hung his lips between her earlobe and her neck but didn't make any contact.

"Michael," she started to say, putting a hand on his face.

"We don't have to do anything," he said reassuringly, "At all."

Alexandra sighed again, and the thought of Edward and Bella, and Emmett and Rosalie darting off into the night came to her mind. She looked up at him and kissed him again, this time placing her thumbs across his belt buckle.

Michael pulled himself back slightly at first, then allowed her to do what she had intended. He went with his original thoughts and slowly pushed the straps of her dress down off of her shoulders. He then moved his mouth hesitantly back to hers and gave her a long, meaningful kiss.

"Let me know if you get... uncomfortable," he said to her, almost unable to open his eyes.

Alexandra answered with the same nervously, "Okay."

They hesitated for a minute before Michael took the lead, "Alex, I love you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. I love you, too Michael."

They stared at each other for a minute before Alexandra initiated another kiss, closing her eyes as his lips made her way down her neck to her shoulder.


	22. A Two-Thirds Vote

**Chapter 22**

Alexandra and Luciana sat on the couch at Charlie's house. The house was empty aside from the two of them and Seth, who was making himself a sandwich in the kitchen.

"I'll talk to my dad," Luciana told her, "If he says no, he says no." She shrugged.

"Everyone's been saying it's a horrible, life threatening idea to even bring it up to him."

"If it comes from me, it'll be different," she explained.

"You think?" Alexandra asked.

Luciana nodded, "If he says no, I'll drop it."

She sighed and leaned back into the comfortable couch.

Luciana looked over at Seth who was going through cabinets looking for something to go with his lunch. "So, you and Michael...?"

A smile spread across Alexandra's face and she looked over toward the kitchen before looking back at her friend.

"He's not paying any attention," Luciana assured her, waiting for her answer to the half of a question she asked.

Alexandra took in a deep breath, then nodded quickly.

Luciana snickered and put a hand over her mouth, then clapped three times in a row quietly.

"Have you and Seth?"

She sighed, then nodded slowly.

Alexandra tried to silence her laugh as Seth rejoined them in the living room. He sat on a chair across the way and flipped through the stations on the television, not acknowledging the two of them until he felt them staring.

"What?" he asked, taking a second before he turned his eyes in their direction.

Alexandra and Luciana looked at each other, then laughed, "Nothing," they said at the same time.

He looked at them skeptically for a second, then shrugged and refocused on TV.

"I'll go surprise my dad on a visit," Luciana whispered.

Alexandra looked around, "Can I come?"

Seth muted the volume, "You're going back to Italy?"

"I'm going to surprise him," she said, "I don't get to see him that often."

He continued to eye her, waiting for a full explanation.

Luciana sighed, unable to keep the truth from him for long, "Michael wants a relationship with his parents. Everyone seems to think my dad will react badly to the idea. I just want to go ask him. I want to see if he could make an exception."

Seth's face twisted, "You think that's a good idea?"

"He's my dad," she continued, "If he says no, he says no."

Alexandra and Seth made eye contact for a few seconds before Seth spoke, "There is no way your parents are going to let you go. Or your brothers and sisters for that matter."

Luciana turned to her, "I'll go alone."

"No," she insisted, "If we do this, I want to go."

"Alex-" Seth started.

"Seth, I want do be the one to do this for Michael. He deserves it. I mean, you went to Italy despite what your entire tribe thought. They would have called it suicide from what I've been told."

He looked annoyed for a moment, then thought about it and nodded, "I get it. I really do... but your mom. She would be worried sick if you went out there."

"So was your mom," Alexandra pointed out.

Luciana looked at him with a shrug, "She's right."

"Don't say anything to my mom, Seth," Alexandra said.

He made a face at her and took a bite out of his sandwich, "Fine."

"I'm serious."

"I won't," he said.

Luciana looked back to Alexandra, "What should we do? Do you want to do it?"

She sighed in heavily, then nodded, "Yeah. I want to."

"My dad always gives me a stash of money when we meet. I have a lot saved up. I can book..." she looked across the room at Seth, "Four tickets."

He turned his head to her and gave a subtle nod, before chomping down on the sandwich.

"You don't have to go," Luciana told him.

"Yes I do," Seth said with a hint of defeat in his voice. He shook his head.

"Should we book the tickets now?"

Alexandra looked over at her friend, "Okay."

"What are you going to tell your parents?" Luciana asked.

"I'll figure that out later."

Seth looked over at the two of them as they both left the room to use the computer. He sunk low in his chair, signifying the way he felt about their decision to go to Italy.

In Volterra, Aro, Caius and Marcus had just finished an early morning meal. They sat together discussing a minor problem that had occurred not far from their home.

"Alec and Jane are already on their way," Caius told Aro with a smile, "You can have your way with perpetrators when they arrive."

"Excellent," Aro said with a smile.

"When will you be taking your trip to the states?" Marcus asked.

"I plan to leave in a few days." He put his hands together and closed his eyes.

"And you're going to warn the Cullens about what could come of their actions?" Caius asked, "Regarding the newer members of their coven..."

Aro looked over at his brother, "A final warning with words. Should they act after that, we will do what we what to."

Marcus turned away and closed his eyes.

The three of them sat in silence for awhile before Jane's voice could be heard above a small chorus of tense communication. The stranger they had brought was protesting, as his voice got louder and echoed off the stone walls that lead up to where Aro stood perched on his seat in between Marcus and Caius.

Jane and Alec soon emerged, holding the struggling vampire securely between the two of them.

"Don't make me do it again," Jane warned with cold eyes. When the man persisted with his actions, she glared at him and instantaneously his body went limp and he cried out in pain as Alec released his arm.

"Okay, okay okay!" His voice shrieked.

Aro and Caius both smiled, before Aro signaled Jane to stop what she was doing. The twins then picked the man up from the floor by his arms and stood to face their leader, who slowly approached.

"What's your name?" he asked lightly with a smile.

"Pasqual," he replied.

"You do know, Pasqual, that it is highly frowned upon to make spectacles of ourselves."

Caius and Marcus both rose from their seats at the same time, but didn't move any more. The looked on with comparable expressions on the surface, though their eyes signaled they felt differently.

Marcus agreed with what Aro was about to do, though felt the poor man should have simply complied with the rules so they would not be forced to be so callous. These situations were not his favorite part of their lifestyle, but he felt it was right to keep their kind in place.

Caius' eyes were menacingly delighted by the fear they instilled on Pasqual. He took it as a personal insult when someone defied the laws that were in place and couldn't wait to see the termination of the man's being.

"I acted out of impulse," he pleaded, "It won't happen again. I assure you if it does, I'll come here myself. I'll turn myself in."

Aro's eyes went soft on the surface, though he had no intention of letting the man go. "Do you think we should believe his words, Caius? Do you believe that this man would turn himself in if he was as reckless and thoughtless as he was today?"

Caius' face twisted into a grin that almost resembled The Joker from Batman. He, above the rest of them in the moment, made the situation far more intimidating than the rest of them, aside from Aro. " He put our entire kind in jeopardy. Next time it could be worse and people could come for us."

"Marcus?"

"There is cause to do justice," he replied.

Aro turned to face Pasqual with a small, "Well, I suppose you, sir, are out of luck. See, I was going to vote to save your life, but two out of three wish to end you, and I cannot go against my brothers' wishes." He turned back and smiled at the two of them, then turned back around and nodded to the twins. They held the man firmly, as he begged a final time for his life before Aro did the honors and erased him from their world.


	23. Deception

**Chapter 23**

Carlisle held onto Cassandra's hand as she wobbled around the living room on her own two feet. Her communication to him was mostly noises and a few baby giggles as she wandered in circles between the couches. He was tempted to let her do it on her own without his help, but didn't have it in him to release her little hand.

A few brightly colored blocks were on the ground and she squatted to pick one up. Her eyes were wide and her mouth formed a smile before she turned and held it up toward Carlisle. The letter "A" was written on it in a florescent green.

He sat on the edge of the couch and pointed his fingers toward the letter, "A," he said to her with a soothing smile, then repeated the letter several times.

Cassandra laughed and pointed to it herself before offering it to him.

Carlisle took the block from her, "Thank you," he said, then picked her up in his arms and kissed her cheeks until she giggled again. He adjusted her on his lap and handed her back the block, which she immediately put toward her mouth to try to chew on.

Alice entered the room with Nicole, who's extremely rapid growth rate put her at close to the same size and advancement level as Cassandra. She sat down next to Carlisle and let the two children interact, before they were both sprawled on the carpet going back and forth with some leftover toys from the night before.

"Cassandra will still be a baby when Nicole is full grown," Alice said to him.

He nodded, "It's hard to believe what goes on in our world sometimes."

They both stared on at the happy children, caring about nothing except the next bright object that caught their attention.

"Thanks for everything you've done for us, Carlisle," Alice said, turning to face him, "I mean it. That had to be the easiest birth in the history of... giving birth."

Carlisle snickered.

"I mean it, if I knew it was going to be _that_ easy, I would have talked Jas into this awhile ago." She let out a laugh.

Carlisle continued to smile, "I'm happy that the two of you are happy, and that you've had the opportunity to have such a beautiful baby."

"I get what everyone was talking about now, more on a personal note," Alice went on, "About the baby years not being short enough. I mean, Cassandra is, what, nine months old? I wish Nicole would progress closer to a human baby."

"I understand," he said with a nod, "But you'll just appreciate these days a little more, that's all. In the end, everyone ends up the same way - full grown, adults, living their own lives, making their own choices."

Bella, Edward, Rosalie and Emmett all crossed through the living room area. Emmett and Bella each had a Mariners Jersey on, while Rosalie wore a hat.

"Where are you going?" Carlisle asked them.

"Seattle," Edward answered, "Mariners game with the kids."

"William, Maddy, Jake and Nessy," Emmett finished.

"Thanks for the invite," Alice joked.

"I told you about the game," Emmett protested, but stopped when Alice started laughing.

"I know," she said, "I'm kidding."

"I didn't get an invite," Carlisle said, raising his eyebrows.

Edward smiled.

"Want to come?" Bella asked, making everyone laugh.

"No, I'm okay," he said, pretending to be hurt, "I'll just stay in and watch the game on TV."

"You can have Jacob's ticket," Edward told him.

Carlisle chuckled, "I'm kidding. Have fun."

The four of them waved and headed out of the house.

"Later Mama," Emmett's voice came from outside, as Esme made her way back in.

"Have a good time," she told him with a smile, closing the door behind her.

"How's the garden coming?" Alice asked, as she entered the living room.

"Great," she said, "I actually have some tomatoes coming in. I figured when the kids come over for dinner, they can have some fresh vegetables," her eyes went far away for a moment, "I remember when I was a young girl, my mother had a garden like that. I used to beg her to help." She twirled her hair in her finger for a moment and had a happy expression on her face.

Carlisle let a grin spread across his face at her moment of joyful reminiscing.

"Oh, look at the two of them," she said, still smiling, now at the babies.

Alice smiled and looked up at Esme, "This is the best."

Esme nodded in agreement and played with her necklace, then looked down at her dirty, gardening clothes, "I'll be down in a bit after I shower. I think Seth and Lucy are coming back with Alex and Michael, so I'm going to make a small dinner for Seth."

"Seth's her little boyfriend on the side, Carlisle," Alice teased, "Watch out."

He smiled and shrugged, then winked at Esme as she shook her head.

"Where's Jasper?" she asked, suddenly realizing he was the only one she hadn't seen recently.

"Oh, he actually went over to see Billy Black," Alice told her, then looked at Carlisle, "He was fascinated by that book you told us about. The one that Billy wrote."

Carlisle nodded, then looked at Esme, "It really was an amazing book he started."

"I almost forgot, I wanted to see it, too," she said.

"So do I," Alice said, "You said his theories are pretty accurate, right?"

"I just happen to believe his theories," Carlisle told them, "It doesn't necessarily make them true, but I think there is a good chance that they could be."

Esme looked at Alice, "Maybe the two of us could go over some time, if Billy wouldn't mind."

"Yeah," she said with a nod, "Soon."

She nodded back and smiled before heading upstairs to shower and change.

A car pulled up in the driveway and Carlisle looked over at Alice, who seemed annoyed.

"Seth totally screws up my visions," she said.

Carlisle laughed and looked over his shoulder as Alexandra, Michael, Luciana and Seth entered the house. They all exchanged hellos before making themselves comfortable on the couches.

Alexandra immediately bolted to Cassandra and picked her up, smothering her with kisses, "Cassie!"

Michael was the last to make his way inside, nodding and smiling nervously as he passed by Carlisle.

Alice made eye contact with Alexandra and gave her a subtle smile. Alexandra smiled back and tried to shake her head slightly, then looked over at her father to see if he'd picked up on their non-verbal communication. When she realized he hadn't been paying attention, she relaxed and re-focused on Cassandra as Michael sat down next to her, leaving a big space between the two of them.

Alice snickered to herself and went to go pick up Nicole from the floor.

"What's so funny?" Seth asked.

"Nothing," she said, waving her hand, bringing Nicole closer to her body.

"What are you guys watching?" Alexandra asked, noticing a commercial.

Carlisle and Alice looked at each other with a shrug before he handed his daughter the remote, "Nothing really. Put on whatever you want."

Luciana, too, looked somewhat stiff, though Alice wasn't sure why. She remained somewhat quiet on the couch next to Seth and tried to keep her attention on the television.

"Alex," Carlisle said, standing up from the couch, motioning for her to join him in the next room.

Her eyes lit up with concern, "What?"

He laughed and looked at her with a confused expression, "Just come with me for a minute."

"Okay," she said, handing Cassandra to Michael, who looked stiffer than a board on the couch from the way he sat. He swallowed hard and looked at Alice, who was desperately trying not to laugh at his nervousness. When he let out a long sigh, she finally let it out.

"What?" he asked her, with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Relax, Michael," she said to him.

He continued to sit with the same ridged posture until Cassandra pushed the toy she'd be holding up into his face. Michael looked at her carefree baby smile and couldn't help but return the expression.

"Where are we going?" Alexandra asked her father, as the two of them ended up in his office.

He gave her a look, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, "Seriously, nothing. I just want to know..."

Carlisle thought about continuing to question her for a moment before deciding against it and going with his original motive. He opened a drawer to his desk and handed her a couple of plane tickets.

"What's this?" she asked, still visibly nervous.

"Plane tickets," he said with a genuine smile.

Alexandra felt the pit of her stomach tighten at the same time as her throat, "To-to where?"

"Denali," Carlisle explained, "You'd said awhile back that you wanted to see what it was like up in Alaska. I think it would be fun if you and Michael took a trip up there."

She tried to study his expression to see if he somehow knew about her plans to join her friends on a trip to Italy. When she came to the conclusion that his gesture had no hidden meanings, she took the envelope, "Really? Wow, Dad, that's - that's nice of you."

"Early birthday gift," he said, "From your mom and I."

Esme made her way into the room upon hearing their conversation, "Maybe next year, or for Christmas, we can all go down to show you the island. But we thought this would be good for now."

Alexandra took in a deep breath, and felt like she'd been punched in the chest, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Esme said, hugging her daughter.

She made her way to Carlisle next and gave him a hug, "You didn't have to do this."

He shrugged, "More to come on your birthday. This is just an early gift."

"When do we leave?"

"Carmen and Eleazar will be expecting you to arrive Friday morning," Esme told her with a smile, "They'll show you around up there."

Alexandra forced a smile and looked at them both, "Thanks."

They both nodded with smiles as she turned and walked out of the office, immediately changing her happy expression to one of distraught when her back was to them.


	24. The Art of Lying

**Chapter 24**

Seth finished the meal that Esme had made him, and smiled, "Thanks for dinner Mrs. Cullen."

"You're welcome, Seth." She took his bowl from where he sat on the couch and went into the kitchen where Carlisle sat skimming through a magazine. He stood up as she began to wash the dishes.

"I got it," he said.

Esme laughed and shook her head, "It's fine."

He smiled to himself and grabbed her by her waist, picking her up off the ground to move her a few feet to the left effortlessly.

She laughed as he put her down and took her place at the sink. "I win," he taunted with a playful smile.

Esme put her hands on her hips, "This is _my_ kitchen."

Carlisle laughed and turned on the water, beginning to wash the dish Seth used and some random utensils, "Can I please do the dishes?" He gave her a pair of soft, puppy dog eyes, making her laugh right away.

"Okay," she told him, being playfully firm, "But I'm going to check those dishes to make sure they're spotless."

"And if they're not?" he gave her a smile, reaching for the hose on the side to spray the interior of a bowl.

"You don't even want to know." Esme smiled wide and put her hands back on her hips.

Carlisle gave her a serious nod before giving her a quick spray with the water. When Esme's jaw dropped, followed by an immediate smile, he started to laugh.

"Don't start something you can't finish," she warned, now laughing with him.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows and gave her a lopsided grin before spraying her a second time.

"Carlisle Cullen!" She raised her voice and walked to the sink as he continued to laugh.

"Okay, okay," he said, unable to keep from laughing harder.

Esme grabbed the hose from his hand, that he didn't fight her for, and sprayed him once in the face. Carlisle closed his eyes and opened them up with a wide smile, then laughed again. She squeezed the handle one more time, giving him a second shot before she reached over and turned the water off.

Both of them stood smiling at each other and laughed before they shared a kiss.

"Look at the floor," Esme said, "And the counter."

"And my shirt and my face," Carlisle added.

She let out another laugh, "You started it. Look at my dress."

Carlisle pulled her in for another kiss and Esme kept him there, smothering him until he started to laugh. He pulled his head back with a smile, "Sorry. I know you just got changed."

"It's alright." She ran a hand along the drops of water that decorated his face.

Carlisle kissed her once more, "I'll get the rest of the dishes. Go sit with Alex."

"Okay," she agreed in a whisper, "I love you."

He put a thumb under his chin, "I love you, too."

Esme smiled and went into the other room. The four of them seemed to straiten up as she entered and their quiet whispers stopped. Alexandra and Seth each flashed her a big smile, and she was immediately suspicious.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Everyone's eyes met each others, "Nothing," Alexandra said with a shrug.

Esme smiled, assuming it was typical "teenager" behavior in a sense that they were up to something mischievous, but not serious, that they didn't want her to know about.

"Ready?" Alexandra asked, looking at Luciana.

Esme flashed her a look with a small hint of disappointment.

"Oh, we're going to hang out at Charlie and Sue's," Alexandra said, "And Lucy and I volunteered to get Masen and Leah's mail, and clean up around the house a little."

Esme looked up at the clock, "It's eight o'clock at night. Mail? Now?"

"We didn't get it earlier," Alexandra told her with a shrug.

There was a moment of silence that fell over them, "Well, tell Charlie and Sue we say hello. Are you going to come back to pack some things?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I'll be back in a couple hours," then added, "Hey, where's Bella and Edward, and the Emmett and Rose?"

"Baseball game," Esme told her, "They went to Seattle."

A rush of relief rushed through Alexandra and she tried to make it not seem noticeable, "Oh okay." She wanted to spend as little time around Edward as possible so the chances of him blowing their cover would be nonexistent.

Michael smiled sheepishly up at Esme, having more on his plate to hide than the rest of them, or so that's how he looked at it.

The four of them stood up, one after the other and Alexandra was the first to hug her mother, "I'll be back in a little while. I love you. Thanks for the gift."

"You're welcome, honey," she said. The rest of them each gave her a hug and made their way to the front door.

"Bye Dad!" Alexandra called.

Carlisle made his way to where they all stood. He had heard their conversations so didn't bother to ask where they were going. "I'll see you in a few hours."

"Okay," she said with a nod.

Michael swallowed hard and sighed, looking at her father, "Thanks for the trip to Denali."

"You're welcome," he said.

There was another awkward silence before they left the house, leaving Carlisle and Esme facing each other with puzzled expressions.

"They're up to something," she told him.

"Michael looked nervous. He didn't even look at me."

"Lucy and Seth were acting funny, too."

"Alex?" he asked.

"Yeah," Esme said.

Carlisle took out his phone and contemplated calling Edward, then put it back in his pocket. "I'll let him enjoy the game."

"Where's Alice?" Esme asked.

He shook his head, "She can't see past Seth. She mentioned that before."

Esme's face twisted with slight frustration.

Carlisle put his hand on her elbow, "You know what I think it is? I think the four of them were planning on doing something, and she didn't expect us to give the tickets to Alaska. She doesn't want to hurt our feelings by not accepting the gift, so they're scheming up what to do."

Her expression lightened, "Yeah that makes sense. None of them seemed to be acting out of the ordinary until we gave her the tickets."

"And she wasn't exactly excited when we gave them to her, either," he noted.

Esme nodded, "Should we tell her that she doesn't have to go if they had something else planned?"

Carlisle thought for a moment, "If they were planning to do something as a group, I'm curious as to what it was," he paused, "But, yeah. I guess we should have told them in advance what we were planning for them. I mean we only gave a few days notice."

They both stood thinking for a moment before Carlisle shrugged, "We'll talk to her when she gets here."

Esme nodded, then smiled as she looked at the water that soaked his collar. She shook her head and gave his shirt a tug before going to straiten up around the house.


	25. Local Getaway

**Chapter 25**

"Family week, let's go!" Emmett called, "We're taking it through the weekend."

When everyone didn't immediately join him in the back yard, he called again, "Let's go!"

Alice emerged from the house dressed up in one of her typical cute outfits. Emmett made a face and referred to his own clothing, "Alice. This is like a camping trip. You're suppose to back pack it up there and wear boots, sneakers... something."

She sighed and disappeared inside, reappearing in sporty gear and sneakers with a pink headband, "Happy?"

"Yes," he said, twisting his hat to the back and adjusting the straps to his backpack. "Jacob and Renesme are already there. They went right from the game last night."

Everyone began to filter out of the house, "Where is this place?" Esme asked him.

"By the water," Emmett told them, "Pretty secluded. Jake and his little posse have been going forever."

Alexandra and Michael walked out behind Esme, and Carlisle was behind them. Rosalie quietly emerged from the woods, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Jasper stood with Nicole at Alice's side and Edward and Bella headed up to where Emmett and, now, Rosalie stood.

"Point us in the direction," Edward said.

"Where are William and Madison?" Bella asked.

"They're probably already there, too," Rosalie told them.

"Are Garrett and Kate going to join us?" Carlisle asked.

Emmett and Rosalie both nodded. "Ready?" he asked.

"Me and Jas will just follow your trail," Alice told them, "We're taking it slow with Nicole."

"Oh yeah, where's Cassie?" Emmett asked, looking at Esme and Carlisle.

"Sue took her for a couple of days," Esme told him.

"Gotcha," he said, then waved a hand, "Let's go."

They began following Emmett's lead, traveling at high speeds through the woods.

Carlisle adjusted so he was next to Alexandra as they went. "You don't have to go to Denali on Friday," he told her, not missing a beat in his words despite the speed he was going.

Alexandra turned to look at him and spoke just a normally as she would have if they were standing side by side, "We'll go," she told him, "Why do you say that?'

"You just seemed a little... disappointed," he said, "And Mom said the two of you, as well as Seth and Lucy, seemed to have possibly had something else planned."

"Mom said that? Oh, look out!"

Carlisle ducked beneath a low branch, "She just thought it appeared that way from the way the four of you were... acting. And it's okay if you want to do something with the two of them. We didn't give you much notice on the gift. We probably should have."

Alexandra felt horrible inside. She didn't want to deceive her father, and she would not go against his wishes by going right to Michael's parents, but going to ask Aro for permission seemed like the respectful thing to do. Her longing for making Michael happy overtook her wishes to be honest with her parents. "I'll, uh, I mean I'll think about it."

"Okay," he said, "What were you guys going to do?"

She scanned her brain for excuses rapidly. They hadn't previously discussed what lie to tell, which was currently a huge blunder on her part. "Um, I think we were just going to, like, make a weekend out of it and do a bunch of things. Seth was just waiting to ask his mom for permission, then I was going to talk to you guys."

Carlisle's mind bounced between skepticism and the want to believe what she was saying, "Let us know by the end of the day what you decide."

"I will," Alexandra promised.

He waved her on, "You can catch up to them if you want."

She smiled and darted up ahead to where Michael ran close to Emmett.

Esme dropped back and looked over at Carlisle, "I was trying to keep up with your conversation."

"I'll tell you everything when we get there," he said.

She nodded and smiled as he grabbed her hand while they ran.

Twenty minutes went by before everyone heard fireworks being shot off with loud booms.

"What's he sending off a flare gun?" Edward asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Over here!" Jacob's voice called.

"We can smell you from here dog," Rosalie called to him, "No need to shout."

"Shut it blondie," his voice called back through the trees.

"Some things never change," Carlisle said with a chuckle, shaking his head as he and Esme slowed their pace to a walk behind everyone else.

The sound of an engine in the water caught everyone's attention and they rounded into a clearing shadowed by trees, filled with a number of Quileute members. Paul and Jacob were both on jet skis and Quil was setting up a large tent about fifty yards from the water.

Paul let out a loud human howl and pumped his fist, revving the engine, "Come on Rachel, let's go."

Rachel Black darted from out of nowhere and splashed through the shallower waters to reach where Paul sat with a smile. He reached one arm down and hoisted her up onto the back of the jet ski.

Renesme was the first to go up and greet everyone.

"Hey Dad! Mom!" She hugged and kissed them both, "Hey everybody."

"This place is safe, Jacob says," Edward said, looking around.

"No one ever comes out here," Renesme assured him, then glanced around at everyone else, "The guys made this clearing themselves. It wasn't all cleared out like this. It was just trees. We're definitely off the beaten path."

"I still don't always trust the wolves," he mumbled under his breath to Bella.

Renesme put her hands on her hips and made a face, "Dad..."

He smiled and pulled her in for a hug then kissed her forehead, "He's waiting for you."

She looked over her shoulder and Jacob who sat patiently in the water as Paul and Rachel took off. "You're staying for a few days, right?"

"We'll be here when you get back," Bella assured her, then called to Jacob, "Take care of her out there Jake."

"We've done this a thousand times," he called back, "She's usually the driver. Much more reckless than I am."

Renesme snickered and smiled, then shook her head, "I'll be back in twenty minutes."

"Have fun," Bella told her, "Be careful."

She nodded and ran off toward Jacob, splashing through the water in the same fashion Rachel had to get to him.

Sam and Emily approached them next, holding hands as they walked.

"Welcome to our little getaway," he said with a smile, letting go of Leah's hand to shake Carlisle's first, "No one ever bothers us out here. Never been a human in sight." He smiled and looked at Emily, "Well, a _normal _human."

Carlisle looked out at a long dock that stretched to about where Jacob and Renesme had just left from, "You guys built all this?"

Sam nodded, "The dock, yes. And that floating dock way out there." He pointed to a spot about ten yards beyond where the landing dock ended. "We cleared out this spot here and made it into our own little camping spot, I guess. I'm not sure what to call it. But you're welcome to use the jet skis, the boats, anything."

"Thanks," Carlisle told him. He looked up at the blue sky above them as sun rays trickled through the tree branches and illuminated the water.

"Don't worry," Sam told him, following his eyes, "Like I said, no one comes out here."

He nodded with a smile.

"There are also a bunch of little games we have set up," Emily said, "Horseshoes and things like that. There's a few of those games where you have to aim and get it in the hole. We tried volleyball but," she laughed and looked at Sam.

He gave a laugh and put an arm around her shoulders, "It just didn't work out so well the few times we played, but the net's set up so that's obviously up for grabs too."

"Thanks a lot," Esme told them, "This is really nice."

They all started walking to where everyone else was spread out doing miscellaneous things. Jasper and Alice emerged a few minutes later with Nicole. Jasper was in the process of handing Alice a bottle and their daughter eagerly began to drink the second Alice put it in her mouth.

"Sure is bright here," Jasper said, joining everyone else. He looked over at Alice as she stepped into the sunlight with everyone else.

"I think it'll be alright," Carlisle told them, looking around to where Alex and Michael had already made their way out to the raft that floated in the middle of the water, their skin sparkling in the open light. He looked down at his own sparkling skin and felt a little uneasy, though trusted Sam and Jacob's words that it was safe where they were.

"Whoa!" Jared said, passing by them with a kayak, "I need sunglasses with all of you standing in one spot."

Bella smirked and shook her head as he met up with Embry to take the boats out.

"Think we're okay?" Esme whispered as quietly as she could to Carlisle.

He looked around at their surroundings then back to her and nodded, "Yeah."

Edward reluctantly removed his shirt, though Emmett wasted no time and took off running down the long dock and jumped in with a loud, upbeat holler.

"Where are Madison and William?" Rosalie asked aloud, hoping someone would answer.

"They're out with the blonde and her shaggy haired male friend," Jared told her as he began paddling away, "Hunting, or whatever." He rolled his eyes, "They left a few minutes before you guys got here."

She nodded and looked down at Emmett with a smile.

"Come in babe," he said, smiling back.

Rosalie quickly ditched her tank top and shorts, revealing a bright pink two pieces swimsuit, and dove in to join him. One of the younger boys whistled as she went and Rosalie's neck snapped in their direction, "You wish," she said loud enough for them to here.

Emmett snickered and splashed her a few times before she pushed him under the water.

"Want to take out the last jet ski?" Bella asked Edward.

He smiled and shrugged, "Sure."

She grinned and leaned into him, "Maybe we can catch up to Renesme and Jake."

"Hey, before you go," Carlisle said, "Did you happen to sense anything out of the ordinary with Alexandra's thoughts? About their trip to Denali or anything..."

Edward thought for a moment and nodded, "I've heard her thinking 'I don't know what to do' on several occasions, and some feelings of guilt for lying to you."

"Anything specific?"

He continued to think, "She thought once or twice that the plane tickets you gave her were bad timing, and thought also something along the lines of ' if it were only a week later'."

Carlisle nodded and looked to Esme.

"I'll let you know if there's anything more specific," Edward assured them, "I'll keep an extra eye out."

"Thanks," he said, the gave a head nod in the direction of the jet ski, "Go have fun."

Edward and Bella smiled, making their way toward the dock immediately.

"You drive," Bella told him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

"Hold on," he said with a laugh and whipped the water vehicle past Emmett and Rosalie, giving them each a splash as she did.

"Edward..." her voice called.

He spun his head around and grinned, "Whoops."

Bella laughed as they took off through the calm water.

Jasper and Alice had set up a blanket and were both basking in the sunlight while Nicole continued to eat. Jasper laid flat on his back with his eyes closed, sporting only a pair of board shorts.

"This is kind of nice," he said, "I just wish we'd actually get tan."

Alice laughed, "You make pale look good, Jas. I couldn't handle you as dark as our wolf friends." She looked up at Carlisle and Esme, "We'd all look weird with tans."

Esme nodded with a smile, "I have to agree."

Carlisle kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt, "Come on," he said, "How often do we get to do this?"

She smiled at him and shrugged, "You're right. We should just enjoy ourselves."

"That's right," Alice said, "Now show off that beach body, mama."

Esme shook her head and removed her shirt and shorts, taking Carlisle's hand as he pulled her toward the water.

"If you guys want me to watch Nicole, just ask," she called back.

Alice waved her hand back, "You two go have fun!" She leaned over and pecked Jasper's unsuspecting lips as he still laid with his eyes close. His mouth twisted up into a smile.

"We should go out on one of those jet skis when someone gets back," Esme told him as the two of them made their way deeper into the water.

"Sure," Carlisle said with a smile, going under for a second, then popping back up. He ran a hand through his hair and looked around before giving Esme a kiss.

"Get a football, Carlisle," Emmett's voice called from deeper out.

He looked around on the beach and saw located a ball not far from Alice and Jasper.

"Jas," her voice came. She pointed to the ball and he tossed it in before laying back down.

Esme lead the way to the raft that was now vacant and pushed herself up onto the ledge. Carlisle followed and handed her the ball before he did the same.

"Throw it!" Emmett called.

She handed him the football and Carlisle launched it in their direction, almost landing it in Michael's hands, though Emmett reached one arm out and grabbed it. The two boys began tossing the ball back and forth, increasing their distance with each throw. Alexandra and Rosalie merged together and began talking and laughing together.

Esme looked on with a smile before laying flat on the wooden raft. Carlisle joined her, immediately enjoying the feeling of the sun as it hit them directly where they laid. He placed his hand over hers and she let her foot graze his.

"I'm trying to relax," he admitted with a laugh, "I just hope they're right and people don't come to this area."

She turned her head to face him, "I think we'll be okay. Jacob said he comes here with Nessy quite a bit, and she has the same skin as us."

Carlisle nodded with a sigh and closed his eyes, feeling his worries diminish as Esme got a little closer. The feel of her shoulder against his shoulder, and her leg against his leg made him smile. He opened his eyes for a minute to glance at her as she laid parallel to him, taking in the sun's energy with her eyes closed. It was rare that he got a chance to see her in the natural light. To him, she was a goddess, and he intended to enjoy their few days "away" at the Quileutes' local getaway without letting his anxious thoughts get the best of him.


	26. Half the Story

**Chapter 26**

Sam and Emily sat close by a little fire, each eating a s'more. She put hers in front of his mouth and he chomped down and took a big bite, getting chocolate on his face. Emily giggled and wiped it off with her thumb and finished off the gram cracker sandwich.

Jacob and Renesme were each roasting marshmallows side by side and were in the process of making their own.

"Hand me yours," Jacob said, "Grab a few gram crackers and put some chocolate on them."

Aside from Quil and Embry, who were setting up an area to light off fireworks, everyone sat somewhat close around the large campfire.

"Masen would like this," Emmett said, "We'll have to take him back here some time when they get in from their honeymoon."

"They go down to lover's island?" Jacob asked with a grin.

Edward snickered, "Yeah."

"They called about a half hour ago," Esme said, "Seems like they're having a good time."

Carlisle smiled as she talked and looked around at everyone.

"Want to hunt fast?" Edward asked, looking at him.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows and quickly realized he was asking for a reason, "Yeah. It's been awhile. I hadn't even noticed."

Esme turned to face him, studying his eyes, then saw how black Edward's were.

"We'll be back in a half hour," Carlisle told her, kissing her forehead, "Save my spot."

She smiled, "Of course."

Edward squeezed Bella's shoulder and stood up, looking at Alexandra and Michael out of the corner of his eye as he and Carlisle distanced themselves from the rest of their family.

"What are you going to say?" Carlisle asked.

"Well, first," Edward said, "I really do need to hunt."

He nodded and looked around, "I should to."

They each roamed about the forest until a pair of deer caught their attention and they were able to strike and feed. When Edward felt satisfied, he approached his father. "It's about Alex, and Alice."

"Alice?" Carlisle asked.

"She told me about a vision just before you and Esme joined us at the fire. Aro's coming here. He's on his way to see Lucy."

His eye met Edward's more directly.

"He's not meaning any trouble, and Alice's vision wasn't complete, but he should be here by the weekend. Saturday she thought, but she wasn't certain."

"So, what's going to happen?"

"Alice didn't sense anything dangerous, but his idea was to talk to everyone. She didn't give me the impression that it was anything to worry about."

"Will he come alone?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes," Edward told him, "That she was sure of."

He nodded, seeming relieved, "And Alexandra?"

"She wants to speak with Aro about Michael's situation, or have Lucy do it for her. They planned a talk about it already."

Carlisle looked down and shook his head. "That's probably what they had planned for the weekend. That's why she didn't elaborate."

"Alice doesn't think he means any harm, and he's traveling alone strictly to see Lucy. I don't think there's a huge threat there. Neither did she."

"But she couldn't see the entire vision?"

"Because of Seth, she suspects."

Carlisle nodded and traced the lines of his jaw while he thought.

"Bring it up when you take Alexandra to the airport," Edward suggested, "That'll probably be your best bet."

"She was suppose to give her final decision about that tonight," he nodded again to himself, "I'll talk to her then."

Edward nodded back and looked around.

"Thanks," Carlisle said, "Want to get back?"

"Sure," Edward said. The two of them took off toward the Quileute camp ground, beginning to hear fireworks as they approached.

"Wooooo!" Jared called into the air as a collage of greens and blues decorated the sky.

Quil and Embry remained far enough away to leave a good distance between themselves and the trees.

Edward linked back up with Bella as he and Carlisle entered the clearing. Alexandra spotted them and whispered quietly to Michael before jogging over to Carlisle.

"Hey, Alex," he said with a smile.

She pulled him away from the group by the sleeve of his shirt with a smile, "I've decided to go to Denali with Michael. We can hang out with Lucy and Seth some other time."

Carlisle raised his eyebrows.

"I'll go back with you or Mom tomorrow," she continued, "Or both of you."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, moving her eyes from his to the trees and back to his eyes.

"Were you planning on meeting with Aro?"

Alexandra's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, "What?"

Carlisle didn't break his stare, "Is that why you wanted to stick around? Because you thought Aro would be coming to town to see Lucy, and then you and her could approach him about Michael's parents?"

Alexandra was lost. She wasn't sure if he was testing her, or if he had his facts confused. The fact that he didn't seem angry gave her a slight edge of confidence and she decided to take a chance.

"Um, well, kind of. But-"

"If you're serious about going to Denali, tell Lucy to hold off. I'll speak with Aro."

"Dad, no. I mean... no we're not going to ask, okay."

Carlisle looked at her skeptically.

"I admit, I _was_ thinking about it. Michael wasn't, but I was. I'm not anymore. We'll go to Denali and have a good time."

Esme joined them away from the group and Carlisle looked at her.

"You heard everything?" Alexandra asked.

She nodded.

"Can you guys take us back home tomorrow some time to catch the plane?"

"Sure," Esme assured her.

The two of them stared at their daughter before she cleared her throat and looked around.

"Well, thank you for being honest," Carlisle told her, "And I won't speak with him if that's what you both wish."

"Yeah," Alexandra said with a nod, "Don't."

"Okay."

Michael looked over his shoulder from where he stood and Alexandra held up a finger, signaling she'd rejoin him in a minute.

"Go ahead," Esme said. She stepped to the side.

"Sorry," she told both of them.

"For what?" Carlisle asked.

Alexandra's voice was a bit solemn, "For lying."

They looked at each other before Carlisle spoke, "Go enjoy the fireworks."

She nodded and scampered away to Michael's side.

"What did Edward tell you?" Esme asked immediately as their daughter left.

"Aro's coming into town," Carlisle whispered, catching Esme's worried expression, "But he's only visiting Lucy, according to Alice. Nothing to do with Alexandra or Michael."

She nodded.

"You know how you said the two of them and Lucy and Seth were acting weird?"

Esme nodded again, "Yes."

"Well, from what Edward could see, they were planning on talking with Aro about the possibility of Michael visiting his parents."

She sighed and shook her head, "You told her not to right?"

"I said I'd talk to him myself, but she said they didn't intend to do it anymore. She had originally wanted to, but changed her mind and the two of them plan to use the tickets we got them for Denali."

Esme still looked worried and eyed the fire that sat some twenty yards from where the stood at the edge of the tree line.

"Hey," Carlisle gently grabbed forearm, "Alice said Aro isn't coming here for trouble. His whole idea is to see Lucy, and that's all."

"Okay," she nodded, "So we'll bring them to the airport tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yeah," Carlisle said reassuringly.

"Alright." Esme took in a deep breath of the night air.

Carlisle could tell the news didn't please her, and that worry still lingered in the undertones of her expression. He pulled her in toward his body and kissed her temple, "No worrying."

"I'll try not to," she sighed, "When he's gone back to Italy, I'll be fine."

He kissed her again on the cheek, then once on the lips as he sensed that was what she was waiting for. "We'll be fine."

Esme wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her into his chest. The two of them looked up at the fireworks display that the Quileute boys were continuing to put on.

"Want to watch them from a different spot?" Carlisle asked her, looking down to meet her eyes as she turned.

"From where?"

He smiled and shrugged, "Somewhere else."

Esme felt a grin slowly spread across her face, "Sure."

Carlisle stepped back and held out his hand before the two of them disappeared.


	27. To Italy, To Forks

**yes, I have more time on my hands seeing as though it's summer, my boyfriend is at work and it has been rainy all week! :) haha.. hope you're all enjoying the plotline still and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY (even though it's only the 2nd)**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

Carlisle and Esme helped Alexandra and Michael out of the car with their luggage, before beginning their temporary farewell to the two of them.

"Be safe," Esme told them, "And enjoy yourselves. Have a good time."

Alexandra had a sad look on her face, "We will. Thanks, Mom."

Esme hugged her tightly, then went to Michael and did the same, "We'll see you when you get back, okay?"

"Call us when you arrive," Carlisle told them, "Do you have everything?"

"Yeah," Alexandra said, "I think so."

He nodded and kissed her on the cheek, then shook Michael's hand, "Call us."

"We will," Michael said, avoiding eye contact.

"Bye," Alexandra said with a little wave, before heading inside as two automatic doors opened, leading into the airport.

"Bye," Esme called to them as the doors shut as they entered. Through the glass she could see her daughter and Michael's hands give a final wave in their direction before the glare made it hard to see.

Carlisle stood for an extra couple of seconds before he turned to Esme and kissed her, "Ready?"

She sighed and nodded as he opened the passenger door for her before making his way around to the driver's side.

Alexandra and Michael walked through the airport, meeting Seth and Luciana at a spot they had arranged earlier upon looking at a layout of the airport they had found online.

"Hey," Luciana whispered as they approached, looking around.

"Hey," Alexandra said, just as suspiciously. She looked over her shoulder to make sure her parents were, indeed, gone.

Michael stood tensely and nodded to Seth, who also looked slightly uncomfortable about the situation.

"I still don't like this," he said to the three of them, "I don't like lying to your parents."

"What about your mom?" Alexandra said.

"She expects me to lie," Seth said with a halfhearted laugh, "Your parents don't." He let out a sigh and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Remember how nervous you were to stay overnight in Italy?" Luciana asked, playing with the collar of t-shirt, "That ended up being a breeze." She kissed him on the lips and bumped him with her hip.

Seth's postured lightened up slightly but his face didn't change, "We still have time to change our minds and let you two take your trip to Alaska instead."

Alexandra's eyes were remorseful, "I feel so bad for lying to them."

"We don't have to do this, Alex," Michael assured her, "It would be great, but it's not something I can't handle. I can push through this bout of family related depression, or whatever it is."

"We've gotten this far," Luciana said with a shrug.

They all stood in silence for a few minutes before Seth looked at his cell phone. "We better start heading in that direction if we're going to go through with this."

Luciana sighed, not wanting her boyfriend and friends to think of her father as a monster, "He does have a heart, you know. At times he may seem... cold, but he has some warmth inside of him."

Alexandra and Michael nodded, seeming to feel the same upon their experiences with Aro. Seth, however, stood motionless, obviously knowing first hand what Aro's wrath could bring upon someone. He, better than all three of them, knew the power Luciana's father held and did not underestimate it for a second.

Michael adjusted his book bag and looked around at them.

"Let's go," Alexandra said with a combination of enthusiasm and reluctance.

Luciana nodded and lead the way with Alexandra to her immediate right for the walk. The boys trudged slowly just behind them, studying the atmosphere of the airport as they walked. The four of them checked their baggage, holding on to their carry-ons before settling in a spot together by their gate.

"No turning back," Luciana told them as she handed her ticket to the employee, before entering the long tunnel that lead to the plane's body.

Alexandra was next, followed by Michael and lastly Seth. They all disappeared down the walkway, each taking a second to look back as they did so.

Aro continued on his journey toward Forks, eager to surprise his daughter for a 'hello' and also to speak with Carlisle regarding Michael. The competitive, egotistical part of him longed for a challenge with the Cullen family, though the better half of him solely focused on Luciana's acceptance and safety.

_It will make for an interesting visit_, Aro thought to himself as he marched through the trees that bordered Canada with United States. There were a number of things he wanted to talk out, some being social, as to know how Masen's wedding panned out. Others were more serious, in a sense that he wanted to be sure that Michael would not be a threat to their kind, or The Volturi in particular. The point was also not made clear on if Michael was now a permanent resident of the Cullen household.

"So many questions," he mumbled to himself, almost angrily. His powerful frame cut through the northern humidity like a knife and his boots crunched over sticks and leaves that made a blanket on the ground.

Nearby, a group of hunters could be heard in the early evening night. Aro turned his nose toward the sky just slightly and inhaled a deep breath filled with one of the men's aromas. He looked at the watch he had been choosing to wear more often - a gift from Luciana back in the Christmas season.

"I suppose it is time for dinner," Aro said to himself with a sheepish smile that no one could see from the segregation of his current position. He had briefly contemplated the idea of trying out the area's wildlife, though immediately thought better of the idea upon smelling the sportsmen.

In the immediate area, he sensed a few different kinds of blood, though he couldn't pinpoint which scent belonged to which animal. It wasn't a fascination of his, nor did he care to ever make it a habit of feeding on being of the woods. The only scents that truly sang to him were those of the three burly gentlemen that were out prowling in the same fashion he was. Their targets were slightly different, though the intent was the same. It was all about hunting; about feeding; about living. On the other hand, the sport of it wasn't so bad either.

Aro decided to enjoy himself and whipped about the men at speeds that left them all scratching their heads and feeling slightly fearful.

"What the hell was that?" one of them asked the other two.

Neither of the other men answered. They held their respective guns securely and scanned the area.

"Bird maybe?" the youngest of the three men answered.

Aro made himself known again, this time edging closer and truly getting a good smell of their blood.

"What is-" a man started, trying to follow him with his shotgun.

"That's no bird," the first man spoke again. He swallowed hard before Aro stopped what he was doing and landed in front of them with a wide smile.

They all looked at each other, not knowing what to think, but fear lingered in their eyes.

"Hunting, I see," Aro spoke, "It's a fun sport, wouldn't you agree?"

The three men continued to stare at him from the beneath the brims of camouflage baseball hats. The man in the middle raised his gun and pointed it at Aro, who proceeded to let out a long, high pitched laugh.

"Get out of here," the man warned, "I'll shoot. Don't think I won't."

"We are in the middle of nowhere," Aro said with a nod, "No one would know what happened to me should I... disappear."

The men on the left and right raised their guns simultaneously.

"Now, three bullets may be hard to dodge at this distance," he said with a smile, "And I would hate to ruin this shirt should one of you aim correctly and strike my chest or stomach."

"What are you?" the man on the left asked, looking into his red eyes.

"He's on something," the middle man spoke again.

"D-drugs?" the third man asked.

Aro laughed again, "I'm afraid you are way off." He moved swiftly, now standing behind them, causing one of the guns to fire, letting off a loud boom.

"John-" the man on the left said, facing the man in the middle with a concerned expression. He looked back at Aro, who was now on their opposite side and unharmed.

"Last chance," the man, now known as John, said again. He pointed the barrel only inches from Aro's face, "Get out of here."

Aro smirked and grabbed the barrel, twisting it easily to the side with one hand. It bent as easily as a Twizzler in the hands of a five year old.

"It's my turn to hunt," he said, never breaking the happy, evil look from his face.

All three men looked horrified, as Aro took his time indulging in the blood of all three of them.


	28. Lightbulb

**Chapter 28**

Carlisle and Esme returned home and immediately went upstairs so Carlisle could change for work.

"I've got thirty minutes before I have to be in," he told her, "And I'd prolong it for a little alone time, but unfortunately I have to carry out a pretty significant surgery."

Esme smiled and closed the distance between them. Carlisle closed his eyes and gave her a long kiss, accompanied by a quick one, before made his way to the closet.

"What kind of surgery is it?" she asked.

Carlisle pointed to his chest and shook his head.

Esme nodded, "Heart?"

He nodded back and adjusted his tie, "Why don't you go back with the others down on their mini vacation?"

She approached him and tightened the top by his collar and Carlisle lifted his head accordingly, "Maybe after Alex calls. I don't know, I might just stay in. They're still going to be there for a few days."

"You sure?" he asked, "I don't want you to be here alone."

"Maybe I'll give Sue a call," Esme said.

Carlisle nodded and took his phone from him pocket, beginning to send a quick text message. She arched her neck to see what he was typing, though he smiled and purposely moved the screen out of her view.

"Carlisle..." her voice was somewhat serious.

He lifted his eyes to meet hers, still smiling and sighed, then showed her the message he had just sent to Edward.

Esme read it aloud, "Would you mind coming back to the house. Esme is here by herself. I don't want her to stay alone."

"Aro's expected to be in town," Carlisle said with an expression that hoped she would give in to his wishes, "I know I said he probably wasn't here for trouble, but I would feel better if someone was at the house with you." His phone went off and Esme smiled.

"What did he say?"

Carlisle's eyes scanned the message, "He and Bella are going to head this way in a few minutes."

Esme sighed, though she smiled at him.

"I just want you to be safe," he said.

"Thank you," she smiled.

"Maybe the three of you can go visit Charlie and Sue," he suggested.

"I'm sure I won't have to pull their teeth for that," Esme said. She looked into his eyes, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," he said back, pulling her in for a kiss.

"Go," she told him with a grin, "You have important work to do. Go help save that man's life."

Carlisle nodded and kissed her once more, "Just send me a quick message when they get here so I can check it whenever I get the chance to."

"Okay," she agreed.

"I love you," he said again.

"Love you, too."

Carlisle waved at her and quickly made his way to his car. Esme looked out the window and watched until his tail lights were out of view before deciding to hop in the shower.

An hour or so later, Edward and Bella arrived to see Esme dusting around lower level of the house.

"Hey kids," she greeted with a friendly smile, "I'm sorry to pull you away from everyone."

They gave her matching smiles before Edward spoke, "We did everything there was to do. Even beating the wolves at volleyball gets old after awhile."

"Yeah, we didn't want to get Paul too riled up," Bella added, "You know what happens."

Esme snickered, "He is very competitive. Reminds me a little of Emmett in that way." She glanced at the clock.

"So they really boarded the plane, huh?" Edward asked with a smile.

"What?" Esme asked with a serious expression.

Bella hit him lightly on the arm, "Edward," she turned to Esme, "That was a bad joke."

"We saw them off at the airport."

"I know," he said, still grinning, "It _was_ a bad joke."

"Hey, would the two of you like to go down to your father's house, Bella? I just called Sue to see if she would mind if we stopped in to see Cassandra."

"Yeah," Bella said right away, "It's been longer than usual since I've seen Charlie."

Esme smiled, "Let me just go grab my shoes."

Edward squeezed Bella's shoulder, then turned and gave her a string of kisses until she smiled. The two of them shared a laugh as he began to tickle her before Edward went to grab the keys to his car.

"I figured we'd drive," he said as Esme joined them again.

She shrugged, "Okay."

The three of them left the house, locking it up securely, before making their way to Bella's old home. When they reached the house, Charlie was outside mowing the lawn and gave a wave in their direction, though continued his journey around the yard.

Bella smiled to herself and went toward the front door, that hung open aside from a wooden screen door.

"Come on in," Sue's voice called.

Edward allowed his mother and Bella inside first, then entered after them.

"Hi, Sue," Esme said with a smile.

"Hey," she waved from the living room couch.

Cassandra stood in front of her on her own two feet and didn't take her eyes off the three of them. Her mouth suddenly turned up in a smile and she stomped across the floor to retrieve a toy.

"She's so beautiful," Bella said, "Between Leah and Masen..."

Sue nodded in agreement and stared at her granddaughter, "She is something, alright."

"Where are Lucy and Seth?" Esme asked.

"Yeah, why didn't they come down to the 'secret spot' with us?" Bella added with a smile.

"Oh, Lucy just left to visit her father," Sue said with a shrug, "Seth went with her."

"He's here?" Esme and Edward asked at the same time. Bella didn't say the words, but it appeared as though she was thinking the same thing.

"No, no," Sue said, "She went out there to see him. She wanted to surprise him."

The three of them exchanged glances and Edward quickly texted Alice, hoping she was by her phone. When she didn't answer immediately, he called her and excused himself from the room.

"When did they leave?" Esme asked Sue.

"This morning," she recognized a slight worried edge in Esme's voice, "What's wrong? Something's wrong, isn't it..."

She thought for a moment, "They didn't say they were meeting up with Alex and Michael, did they?"

Sue shook her head, "They didn't mention it to me. Where are Alex and Michael?"

"Carlisle and I dropped them off this morning at the airport to take a trip to Denali. They had been acting weird in the days before they left..."

Edward reentered the room, "Alice said her visions were very certain that Aro was almost here. He was coming to see Lucy."

Sue looked confused, "I saw their plane tickets..." her voice trailed off and worry crossed her face.

Esme looked at the clock on the wall again, then to her phone for the time, "They should have been there by now. I told Alexandra to call me when they arrived in Alaska." She began scrolling through her contact numbers until she found Carmen's and hit the 'send' button.

Sue's face looked more anxious as the seconds passed and Bella tried to comfort her a little. "There's no reason to worry yet," she assured her, "I'm sure it's just a mix-up."

"Carmen," Esme's voice came out urgently, "Have Alex and Michael arrived yet?"

Everyone watched as her expression changed. Her eyebrows narrowed and there was a hint of anger, though distress and concern filled her eyes.

Edward read her thoughts immediately and sighed, looking down.

"What?" Sue and Bella asked at the same time.

"Thank you," Esme said frantically, "Thanks. I'm sorry. Yes. I'll call you back. Thanks so much Carmen." She hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Sue asked, picking up Cassandra as she clawed at the bottom of her pants.

"They didn't go to Alaska," Esme said, "Alex sent them a message saying they were going to visit another time. She apologized to them, and said that Carlisle and I were sorry for the mix-up, but they would be visiting soon."

"They went to see Aro," Edward said, shaking his head.

"Definitely?" Esme asked. She dialed Alexandra and Michael's numbers over and over, leading her strait to voicemail each time. She left several messages on each of their phones, trying to leave out the part about her being furious, and telling each of them calmly that she wanted to make sure they were alright.

Sue began doing the same thing with Seth and Luciana's numbers.

"So why is Aro here then?" Bella asked, "Could Alice be wrong?"

Edward shook his head, "That's the part I don't understand." He began thinking heavily about what was going on.

Esme dialed Carlisle's number next, hearing it ring about seven times before going to voicemail, "Carlisle. Call me when you get this. It's urgent. Please call me back."

"You said Lucy was surprising her father?" Edward asked Sue.

She nodded, "Yes."

"Bad timing," he mumbled to himself.

"What? Edward, what?" Sue continued to pry.

"What if they went to see him at the same time he was planning to come here?"

Everyone's thoughts came together at once and it all seemed to click.

"I'm going to Italy," Esme said, "I have to go now."

"Do you think they're in danger?" Sue asked.

"I don't know," she said, "I just wouldn't underestimate the Volturi, even without Aro."

"It might be worse without Aro," Edward commented.

They stood in an anxiety filled silence.

"Let's go to the hospital, get Carlisle..." Edward suggested.

"He's doing heart surgery," Esme said, shaking her head. She ran a hand along her face.

Edward sighed and looked around, "We'll go then. Me and you."

"And me," Bella added, "I'm not staying here without you Edward."

"Fine," he agreed, "I'll tell the others to meet Carlisle at the hospital. Let's go home and pack a bag-"

"No!" she said firmly, "I'm not letting them have any extra time alone with them out there. We need to go now."


	29. Boarding Planes

**Chapter 29**

Flashbacks hit Bella like a wave as she, Edward and Esme raced to the airport to make their way to Italy as quickly as possible. She felt bad leaving Sue in distress, and barely speaking to her father, though she knew she had the power to protect Edward, Esme and everyone else, at least from the powers of Jane and Alec. Throughout talks with their family, Emmett assured them that William, Maddy, Sam and a few of the other wolves would be there to protect Charlie's house.

Thoughts of the large clock tower crossed Bella's mind, then the angelic look of Edward in the sunlight. They all lead up to what she did not want to think about - the depths of the Italian underworld where The Volturi called home. The smell of their lair lingered in her thoughts, as well as the dimly lit corridors made of stone.

A loud beep made her return to the present time, where Edward was urging a slower driver to get out of the way. Esme sat next to him in the passenger seat, pointing in all directions as he continued to huff and puff at just about everyone else on the road.

When they finally arrived at the airport, Edward pulled the car up as close to the curb as possible to avoid the lingering sunlight of the late evening. Esme and Bella each ran into the shade as he found a parking garage to keep his Volvo in until the next time he needed it.

The two of them went through the process of purchasing tickets before Edward met back up with them.

"We got the earlier flight available," Esme said, "We can board soon." She began leading the way toward the gate they were assigned to and took out her cell phone to call Carlisle again, though seemed frustrated when he didn't answer and shoved it back in her pocket.

"Emmett and Rosalie are at the hospital," Edward told her, reading an incoming message from his phone.

"What did they say? Are they with Carlisle?"

He shook his head, "Not yet. He's still in surgery."

"What about Alice? Jasper?"

"They're meeting with Aro," Edward explained.

Esme's head snapped in his direction.

"It might be a good thing. He can contact the others, let them know that his daughter his planning a visit..."

She sighed and tried to remain as calm as possible on the surface.

Edward went over and hugged her, "Lucy's with them."

"I need to get to them," Esme said desperately, "I need to talk to them. I can't believe they went ahead and did this. I'm not even mad, I'm just... I don't know." She took in a deep breath.

"We'll get to them," Bella said, trying to sound reassuring, though she didn't know how much good it did, fading back again to when she was on the plane with Alice in a similar situation.

"Our phones probably won't even work once we're in the air," she said, "If one of them tries to call me, I won't even know it."

"We'll get there not long after them," Edward said, "They just left this morning."

"It's more than a half a day," Esme said, "That's a long time alone with Caius. And Jane..." The thought of Jane's wrath suddenly plagued her mind and the thought of Alexandra being put to the ground in pain almost made her wince, "Jane..." she said again.

"Try not to worry," he told her, "It won't be long."

The man in charge of the area called their section to board, and again Edward allowed Esme and Bella to go before him before he politely smiled at the man collecting tickets and followed them down the corridor.

Emmett tapped a pen he'd kept from the counter nervously as he sat in Carlisle's office across from Rosalie. The sound finally got to her and she looked at him, "Em... can you cool it with the pen?"

He sighed and stopped, then looked back to the clock, "How long do these things take?"

Rosalie looked at him helplessly, "It's heart surgery."

"We've been here awhile," he shook his head.

Carlisle's phone began buzzing from one of his desk drawers and Emmett stood up to trace it. Esme's name popped up on the screen and he picked it up, "Esme."

"Carlisle?" her voice was frantic, yet hopeful at the thought of her hearing his voice.

"No. It's Emmett," he said, "Sorry. I just picked up his phone."

Rosalie leaned in and listened harder.

"Where are you?" Esme's voice asked, "Is he there?"

"He's still doing the procedure. We're waiting in his office."

There was a brief moment of silence before she sighed, "Okay. Well, me, Edward and Bella just boarded the plane, so if you can't get ahold of us, it's because we're in the middle of the flight. Please be safe, all of you. I love you."

"We love you, too. I'll have him call on a chance that your phone might still be on when he gets out."

"Thanks Emmett," Esme said, "Please be careful."

"We will." He hung up the phone and scanned through all of Carlisle's recently missed calls and messages before looking at Rosalie, "This isn't gonna be good."

Rosalie sighed and stood up, looking at everything in the office as a distraction technique.

"You should stay," Emmett told her, "I don't want you to be in danger over there."

"I'm coming with you," Rosalie said firmly.

"Rose-"

"Emmett. It's not up for discussion."

He looked down, deciding it wasn't a battle he was about to win.

They sat in mostly silence for another half hour before Carlisle entered, almost shocked to see them, though their scents lingered in the hallways surrounding the immediate area.

Emmett and Rosalie both stood up quickly.

"What are you guys-"

"We need to go," Rosalie said, "Get a couple things together."

"What's wrong?" he asked, now looking physically distressed. His eyes moved from Rosalie to Emmett.

"We're going to Italy," Emmett said, "We'll explain it all in the car, but we need to go now."

"Italy? Tell me what's going on."

Rosalie grabbed his car keys and threw them to him, passing by him to get into the hallway. Emmett grabbed his phone.

"Guys!" Carlisle raised his voice, drawing a few looks in his direction from people passing by.

"In the car," Rosalie said, "We have to go."

Another doctor passed by and Carlisle took a second to speak with him.

"Hey, Dr. Cullen," the man began to smile, "You did a wonderful job on the-"

"Thank you," he said, cutting him off. It immediately registered to the man that something was off.

"What's wrong? Is everything alright?"

"Uh, um, no," he said, "I have a family emergency. I have to go right away. I'm sorry."

"Go, go," the man urged, seeming to empathize with his urgency, "I don't think anyone will be looking for you after the job you just did. Take a vacation or something."

Carlisle nodded, "Thank you. If anyone asks, just tell them I had a family emergency."

"O-okay," the man said, now looking a bit frazzled himself.

Carlisle nodded to him again and patted his shoulder before taking off after Rosalie and Emmett.

The sun had set so there were no issues getting to the car in the parking lot. Carlisle looked down at his phone on the run that was far slower of a pace than he would have liked, though it was on the faster end of the human scale.

"I have about twenty calls from Esme, almost as many from Edward, a few from Bella and Alice..." he clicked on Esme's name to call her, though it went right to voicemail.

Rosalie jumped in the back seat as Carlisle opened his car door and Emmett piled into the passenger seat.

"Alex and Michael went to The Volturi," Emmett said as the car went into drive.

Carlisle slammed the brakes and looked over at him, "What?"

"Drive!" Rosalie called from the back.

Carlisle put the car back in drive and made his way for the interstate.

"We have to get to the airport, get tickets and get on a plane," Emmett told him.

His head was spinning and he was trying to gather all of the information, "How do you know they went there?"

"Esme and Edward called. They were at Sue and Charlie's and somehow realized-"

"Lucy and Seth boarded a plane this morning. Esme called Carmen to see if they'd arrived in Denali but she said Alex called her and said they were sorry for not being able to make it, but they would visit in the near future."

"We dropped them off at the airport this morning," Carlisle said, then slammed his fist on the steering wheel, "They got on a plane to Italy. Not Denali." His foot pressed harder on the gas pedal as he cruised on the open back road until he found the sign for the interstate. He tried Esme's phone again, then shoved it roughly in the cup holder when she didn't pick up, "Call Edward," he instructed Emmett.

"I tried before. We can't reach them anymore."

Carlisle turned his head in Emmett's direction, "What do you mean? Why?"

"Esme, Edward and Bella boarded a plane earlier. They're already on their way there."

The expression and life drained out of his face. The thought of his family in the hands of The Volturi sparked every emotion in him and he floored the gas pedal, now weaving in and out of traffic.

"Alice and Jasper are meeting with Aro in Forks," Rosalie added, "He came down here to surprise Lucy. That was the vision that Alice had seen."

"So why are they on their way to Italy to see him?" Carlisle asked, trying to glance in the rearview mirror.

"We think it was a mix-up," Emmett said, "Neither of them told the other about their plans."

Carlisle arched his neck to look down the way at the breakdown lane and when no one was in the way for as far as he could see, he moved over, passing everyone in both lanes, topping out at well over one hundred miles per hour. He continued to shake his head and take deep breaths, "We can't let them be there alone with Caius and Jane."

They traveled for miles in their segregated lane, getting looks and beeps from other drivers, though no one really cared or even paid attention. For the first time in possibly ever, Carlisle went on a ten second cussing spree and somehow found it in him to compose himself before he could slam his hand down on the dashboard.

Emmett turned to Rosalie who looked sad in the back seat. He put a hand on her knee for a second before turning back around, wanting to comfort Carlisle, though thought it was best in the moment to give him a few minutes to calm down.


	30. The Arrival to Volterra

**Chapter 30**

Carlisle and Esme's plane rides were equally painful and seemed to take forever. The worst part was the inability to communicate with anyone. Neither of them knew where Alexandra currently was. Esme had never spoken directly to Carlisle, and had no idea what time he, Emmett and Rosalie had boarded a plane. Carlisle had no idea where Esme, Edward and Bella would be when the plane he was on landed, and his thoughts also went back to where Alice and Jasper currently stood with Aro.

Carlisle had long since composed himself from the car ride, and over the first ten hours of their travels across the world, he began to come up with rational ideas with Emmett and Rosalie, though tried to speak quietly due to the close nature of those who sat around them.

"We have less than an hour left," he told Rosalie, who sat to his left, while Emmett took the isle seat, "Once we land, go through the normal procedure to get off the plane. One of you call Edward right away, or Bella."

"I will," Emmett volunteered.

Carlisle nodded, "Rose, I want you to try Alice and Jasper."

"Okay," she agreed, "They might be in flight, too."

"That's okay," he spoke calmly, "We'll try them. They may have sent us voicemails, or something. If Aro knows what's going on through Alice, he may have already spoken to the rest of them, which I'm hoping will work in our favor."

Rosalie gave a half smile that was accompanied by a nod, "Are you going to call Esme?"

"After I call Alexandra," he said, "But she's with Edward and Bella, so if Emmett gets a hold of them," he looked at Emmett, "Or, you know what, try Esme's phone first while I call Alex."

"Alright," Emmett agreed.

A voice came through the speakers of the plane, "Our expected arrival time is in approximately thirty minutes." The same person then repeated the same phrase in Italian.

The three of the exchanged glances before Rosalie and Emmett linked hands. Carlisle took a deep breath and stared out the window that showed nothing but darkness. He closed his eyes and tried not to imagine the worst.

Esme, Edward and Bella quickly made their way to the nearly empty streets of Italy. Most of the illumination in the dark city came from the face of the clock on the tall tower that stood as the focal point for what they were there for.

"Why aren't they picking up their phones?" Esme asked aloud, clicking on Alexandra's name for what seemed like the one hundredth time.

Edward dialed Seth and Michael, while Bella tried Luciana. When none of them were successful in their attempts, Edward lead the way toward the tower.

"Let me go in," he said, "Let me see if they're even inside, and then-"

"No," Esme and Bella said at the same time.

"You need my shield," Bella insisted.

"And I'm going in there after Alex," Esme said.

He took a deep breath and agreed with a furious reluctance, waving them on as they disappeared beneath the giant clock that signaled it was twenty after four in the morning.

"We've been expecting you," a voice came from the darkness.

The three of the stopped momentarily before they continued on toward the voice that gave off an eerily, sweet ring from deafening silence. Everyone knew who's voice it was. On the surface, it was welcoming; kind, though there was nothing kind living in the depths of where it came from.

"Jane," Edward's voice rang back. He heard her take in a subtle breath.

"Just the three of you?" she asked, then added, "Where's Carlisle? Alice?"

"On their way," he responded.

"On the way?" Amusement rang in her voice, "I see."

Esme cringed, putting together that Aro must not have gotten the chance to speak with the rest of them if Jane had no idea where Alice was.

"Is Alexandra here?" Esme asked, "And Luciana?"

Jane's menacing snicker sang to them in the darkness, as they rounded a corner to finally face her, "They arrived not long ago," she explained with a smile.

"Jane," Edward went on, "Just let the go so we can be on our way."

She did not like the tone of his voice, nor the order and a scowl formed on her face, followed by a sweet grin, "They came here on their own free will. The company was quite unexpected, but we would never turn them away."

"Where are they?" Esme asked.

Jane turned to her with the same smile, "Right this way."

Edward grabbed Bella's hand and placed the other on Esme's shoulder, securing it there as they made their way down to the area he wished to never see again.

"Where's Aro?" Bella asked, already knowing the answer to some extent.

Jane turned to her with a polite smile, though didn't respond.

Esme braced herself as they hit the lower, having only heard about the place through Carlisle and Edward. She longed for her daughter's scent to confirm the fact that she was unharmed, though knew Luciana had no control over masking everyone's she was surrounded by. The fact that she could not sense Caius, Marcus or any of the rest of them was the only thing that made her feel content.

Jane's happy-go-lucky skip of a walk was equivalent to that of a child on Christmas morning. She carried with her, such joy, that it made everyone all the more uneasy. Her tiny hands finally pushed easily through a set of large double doors, that any human man would have had trouble opening.

"We're back," Jane called dryly, with no hint of emotion.

Caius and Marcus each sat on either sides of Aro's empty regal chair. They rose their eyes to meet Janes, then to Esme, Edward and Bella. Caius held his chin high with defined arrogance and Marcus looked plainly at them, not giving much away from his always solemn expression.

"Yes?" Caius asked, remaining stern.

"Caius," Edward spoke, "We don't want any trouble. We just came to take our family members home."

"_Your_ family members?"

"That's right."

He looked to the side and made eye contact with Marcus before returning his focus on them, "I believe it was Aro's daughter who came to see us, therefore she is _our_ family member - your guest."

"Where's Alexandra?" Esme asked.

"Is she the blonder one?" Caius continued to play dumb, though his amusement could not be hidden, "Not quite as blond as me I suppose, but a darker shade of it."

"Yes," Esme answered, "She's here?"

"I do believe she's here, yes."

"Where is she?"

Caius turned to Marcus again, who met his stare briefly.

"They came to us with a proposition," Marcus spoke in a tone just above a whisper.

"A proposition that would break our rules, yet again," Caius added.

"I want to see my daughter," Esme demanded, causing Caius to smile.

Bella noticed Edward's suddenly concerned expression and she put her shield into full effect just before Jane could use her powers on Esme.

"Jane-" Edward started, shaking his head.

She glared at him furiously.

"It's alright Jane," Caius stated, smiling at her, "Go accompany the children in the other room."

Esme's eyes trailed Jane as she disappeared with a smirk.

"Consequences will stand," he continued, "According to the laws we have practiced for hundreds of years."

A loud scream rang through the underground tunnels and everyone's heads snapped in the direction they came from.

"Alexandra!" Esme turned quickly and made painful eye contact with Edward then ran in the direction of her daughter's screams.


	31. To Protect or Die Trying

**Chapter 31**

"Esme!" Edward called as she dodged Alec's lunge at her and struggled past Demetri, only to be confronted by Felix before she could get to her daughter.

Bella and Edward both followed, causing Bella to momentarily stop the shield.

Alec got his hands around Bella's midsection, though Edward grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him off of her. The two of them now stood facing Demetri, who looked ready to strike, while Caius and Marcus merely stood by their thrones and watched on no differently than if they were at a sporting event.

"Let her go Felix," Edward demanded, looking past a crouched Demetri.

"Can we please settle this like gentlemen," a voice echoed across the walls, before Aro stepped in through the doors with a smile.

Alexandra's cries stopped, though Michael's came next. Esme struggled to get out of Felix's strong grasp, but she was unsuccessful. "Please..." she begged.

Aro nodded and waved his hand casually to Caius who returned the nod and said simply, "Jane."

The cries of pain stopped and she emerged in the doorway.

"Bring them out," Caius instructed.

"Let's go," Jane said, without looking behind her.

Luciana and Seth emerged first, and Aro visibly flinched at their hurt expressions. Alexandra and Michael entered the main room just behind them, each looking overly tormented.

"Mom!" Alexandra attempted to lunge for Esme, but Demetri stepped in and lead their small group toward Aro.

"Dad," Luciana said, "We came to see you." Her eyes were wet with tears.

Aro looked around, wanting to maintain his hard demeanor, but her expression hit him like a ton of bricks, "Why wouldn't you be responsible and inform me first?"

"I-I just... I want to surprise you, and-" She broke down into tears and Caius rolled his eyes and looked to Marcus.

"Marcus," Aro said gently, "Would you please escort Luciana and Seth down the hall and wait for me there?"

"As you wish." Marcus took a few slow steps in their direction and held out his hand, "Come Luciana."

She looked at her father with skepticism, then took Marcus' arm. The two of the didn't break eye contact until she was about to exit the room.

"It was my idea," she called to him, "All of this was my idea."

Caius cocked his head to the side as they disappeared into the darkness, then refocused on Aro.

Edward looked at Esme, wanting to run and try to take on Felix to free her from the hold he had on her, though knew they were greatly outnumbered and out of their element in the Volturi's lair.

Michael stood before Aro and looked frightened. He tried to reach for Alexandra's hand but Demetri roughly shoved his hand away.

"My dear, dear son," he said with a smile, "Do you have a scenario to run by me?"

"No," Michael shook his head, "The only thing I want is for Alex and her family to be released safely."

Aro placed his hands beneath his chin and thought for a moment.

"He's a threat to our kind," Caius said angrily, "If he's stupid enough to come to us with this nonsense, what does he do when he's elsewhere?"

"You can do what you will with me," Michael said, looking Caius in the eye, "Just please let them go. I never meant any trouble. We came to ask permission. If it was not granted, we would not have crossed you."

"I understand, you wish to see your human parents," Aro said, confirmed the story he had heard.

"Not anymore," he said, then turned and looked at Alexandra, "I know what my future holds. I've never intended to tell anyone about... this. Even my parents. We were coming here to see what you thought about-"

Aro stepped forward and silenced him, reaching for his hand, "This suits me far better. Nothing gets lost in the translation this way."

Michael looked over at Alexandra, then to Edward before he let Aro accept his hand.

A moment or two went by as he fully grasped everything from Michael's life, leading up to the current moment.

Caius' head snapped up and he looked with a slightly concerned expression at the open doorway.

Aro spun around to face where Carlisle, Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper entered together.

"Carlisle. How are you?" Aro greeted, "I came to pay you a visit, however, I heard from Alice and Jasper that you were quite busy in your own profession at the time."

Carlisle's eyes shifted to where Alexandra and Michael stood by the Volturi leader, then to where Felix stood with Esme. His eyes blackened, though he attempted to remain calm.

"Aro, Caius..." he started, "I know why my daughter and your daughter have come here today."

"We were just going to ask a question and be gone," Michael insisted with Aro, who failed to acknowledge him.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Alexandra said through teary eyes, "I'm sorry."

Bella still stood next to Edward and began putting her shield into effect, leery of Jane.

"It's fine," Carlisle assured her, trying to flash her a smile.

"It certainly is not fine," Caius disagreed.

Carlisle shifted his eyes toward Esme again, then back to Aro, "Would you tell Felix to take his hands off my wife?"

Felix tightened his grip on Esme and she flinched slightly.

A low growl bottled up in Carlisle's chest and he composed himself to keep from starting a fight.

"You're in rare form," Aro said to him with a smile, "My, in all of my years I don't know if I've ever witnessed you so...aggressive."

"I'm not about to start a fight," he told him, "I want my family out of harms way."

"They came to us-" Caius started.

"I've taken care of Luciana. We all have," Carlisle said, cutting him off, "Your daughter wanted to come and speak with you because she trusted your judgment as a father, even if your answer was against her wishes."

"And you condoned this?" Aro asked.

"No," Carlisle said, "But apparently, they wanted to hear it from someone who stood in charge of our kind, not just from me."

Alexandra spun to face her mother for a moment and looked down regretfully.

"Where's Masen? And Alice?" Jane asked from the corner of the room.

"Elsewhere," Jasper answer vaguely.

She scowled, not appreciating his short response and attempted to use her powers on him, letting out a frustrated sigh when it didn't work. She then turned and glared at Bella.

"Well, haven't you found your place very nicely in the Cullen family," Aro said, smiling at Bella.

She nodded, "Yes."

He looked back toward Caius, "What shall we do?"

Carlisle looked at Esme, and Felix turned up the corner of his mouth in a smile. Esme shook her head slightly as if to tell him not to charge at Felix.

Edward edged himself closer to Carlisle. "Don't do it," he whispered as lightly as possibly.

Carlisle quickly positioned himself in front of Alexandra and Michael, leaving Caius glaring at him. Demetri and the twins both took a step in that direction, but didn't act as Aro put up a hand, who was now almost face to face with Carlisle.

He continued to look at Aro, while communicating to Edward telepathically. _Edward, you and Emmett take Alex and Michael to the back of the room if you can._

When Edward stepped forward, signaling Emmett as he did, Demetri stepped in, blocking their way.

Edward grabbed Alexandra's arm, as Demetri grabbed his and he tried to pull her in his direction, while Emmett worked on getting Michael.

Alec stepped forward and tried to intervene, but Jasper stood in his path.

Emmett grabbed Michael by the shoulders and pulled him back toward him, thought Demetri flipped himself around behind Emmett and the two of them became entangled on the floor, leaving Edward a chance to get Alexandra out of harm's way.

All within the matter of a second, Michael was in Demetri's grasp with his forearm tucked under his neck and his head stuck in a hold. Emmett stood up angrily from the floor and began to charge, though Carlisle put a hand on his chest and shook his head, "Hold on," he instructed.

"Michael!" Alexandra called, staring at him hopelessly as Demetri tightened his grip on his neck, making him sigh and wince.

Emmett looked over at Felix now, who continued to taunt them with his smiles.

"I'm fine," Esme whispered, causing Felix to spin her around in a position to match Michael's.

Carlisle turned to face them, noticing Alexandra was tucked safely between Edward and Bella from his peripheral vision.

"Let her go," he said firmly.

Felix let out a laugh at the same time as Caius.

"I've spent my whole life trying to do the right thing, and keeping my family under your orders," he went on, "And I don't want to see anyone on our side, or yours, for that matter, get hurt. I'd never want that. But if you don't take your hands off of her, I will kill you Felix. I don't care if Jane or Demetri or Alec takes me down next. I have no fear of any of you, or of dying, if it takes me family out of harms way."

Aro stared at Carlisle, then switched his gaze to Caius.

Felix took his eyes away from Carlisle to meet Caius' stare, who gave him a nod, "Take her away for now. "He turned to face Carlisle.

Edward suddenly grabbed Alexandra and took off toward the double doors, causing Jane to try intervening.

"Go!" Edward said, pushing her out of the room. He was grabbed harshly by Jane around the waist as Alexandra looked back.

"Leave!" he called again, "Get out of here!"

"Edward!" Bella screamed, as he was taken down.

"Go after her!" Caius ordered.

Alec and Jane both headed for the doors, though Jasper and Edward respectively held them back.

"Carlisle!" Esme screamed as Felix began to drag her away.

He and Emmett ran in her direction, taking on the big Volturi enforcer.

Caius angrily jumped down from his position, though Rosalie met him halfway. He glared at her and lunged for her throat with his hand, though she managed to spin away and reverse the hold on him.

Emmett grabbed Felix's head, while Carlisle reached for Esme, who was still heavily trapped from his strong hold.

Felix released one hand from her to shove Emmett's head into the large, stone wall, sending him to the ground.

"Em!" Rosalie called, watching him collapse.

"Call in the guard!" Caius managed to choke out at the same time Aro's pleading daughter's voice rang through the halls, "Dad! Stop! Stop this! Please!"

Alec wiggled his way from Jasper's grasp and managed to get out through the double stone doors, leaving Jasper just a few feet behind him on the run.

Carlisle ripped Esme out of Felix's arms and placed her securely behind him as he crouched and got ready to attack.

"Go after them!" Aro demanded of Demetri, grabbing Michael by the arm.

He was out of the room and quickly on the scents of Alexandra, Alec and Jasper.

Felix and Carlisle went at each other at the same time, locking in a stalemate for a moment, each with their hands tightening around the others neck. Esme attempted to attack Felix from the back, though the two of them moved from place to place so rapidly, it was hard to tell who was who, or where to strike.

"Carlisle!" Esme screamed, looking around the room at everyone in their own entanglements. Michael and Aro. Rosalie and Caius. Edward and Jane, then Bella who maintained the shield around all of them so Jane's powers would be useless.

A loud crash brought her attention back to her husband, as Felix threw Carlisle through a tall pillar, sending shards of stone everywhere.

He stood above him, now as Aro looked on whispering something into Michael's ear with a smile.

At the same time, Esme ran at Felix with Emmett now back on his feet heading in the same direction.

"Michael!" Alexandra called, reentering the room.

Esme turned and Carlisle looked up from beneath the rubble that continued to crumble and fall on him. "Alex!" they both screamed at the same time.

Emmett plunged his shoulder into Felix's side, finally managing to shove him to the ground before reaching down to help Carlisle up with one arm.

Esme ran toward Alexandra who was face to face with Aro and Michael.

"Please let him go," she begged, "Please. He hasn't done anything wrong."

Aro was about to respond when Demetri entered and lunged for Alexandra.

"Stop!" Carlisle cried out. He raced to place himself between the tracker and his daughter, bringing Demetri to the ground with a sickening thud and a loud crack.

"I'll let your entire family walk away right now, Carlisle," Aro propositioned loudly, apparently worried to see his best tracker on the verge of death, "If you leave Michael to us."


	32. Chaos

**Chapter 32**

Carlisle still had his hand pressed firmly in Demetri's throat while Aro continued to speak to him.

"Carlisle..." he said calmly, though the undertones of his voice were strung with caution at Demetri's possible demise.

He thought for a moment and pulled the tracker to his feet, though kept him locked in his grasp and faced Aro.

"Everyone walks now," he repeated, "Alexandra. Esme... everyone."

There was a brief moment of silence before Aro continued.

"If you'll leave Michael to me."

"Dad," Alexandra said, now standing locked with Esme. She shook her head.

Carlisle gave her a sympathetic look, then switched his focus back to Aro, "Michael is a part of our family."

"You're willing to risk the lives of your wife and daughter for him?"

"He's just as much a part of our family as anyone," Carlisle told him, "He hasn't broken any laws. He never went to his parents."

"That doesn't mean-"

"Humans know of our secrets as they've crossed through here on many occasions," Carlisle reminded him, "Throughout the centuries you've revealed your identities to the ones you've chosen."

"And we dispose of them," Aro finished, "We don't let the go about their lives, up there," he pointed toward the ceiling, "Once they set foot down here they never go back." He thought for a moment and looked at Michael, who struggled from his awkward angle to meet his eye contact, "We could always just bring your parents here, dispose of them and you could all be one your way."

"No!" he cried out, "Never."

"Well then I revert back to my first option," he looked at Carlisle, "Take your family and go, Carlisle."

"When you let my family member go, I will."

Aro shook his head, "Your compassion will get you killed one day, though I do admire your strong will."

"Let him go, Aro."

Their eyes locked, each holding a member of the other's family, neither budging from their positions.

Caius wrestled himself away from Rosalie and darted across the room toward Bella, who had been quietly a major role-player in the dispute by rendering Jane useless.

"Bella!" Edward screamed, releasing Jane to try to intercept the attack.

She braced herself for his blow, and stood her ground as he threw his shoulder into her, pushing her back forcefully while her heels grinded into the stone floor until she hit the wall.

"I suppose my deal is off the table," Aro said with a chuckle.

Jane smiled immediately and Carlisle unwillingly released Demetri and dropped to the ground in pain. Aro let out a laugh and Demetri smiled as he was freed, grabbing Carlisle by the back of his shirt.

"Stop!" Alexandra shouted at Aro.

Esme grabbed Demetri and used all of her strength to rip him away from her husband, much to his surprise.

Alexandra crouched down over him, before she was the next one inflicted by Jane's wrath, letting out a loud scream.

Carlisle stood up and saw Bella dart across the room to take on Jane, momentarily distracting her from her painful afflictions on his daughter.

"Alexandra," he said, helping her up, "Are you alright?"

She nodded and got up slowly with his help.

"Carlisle!" Emmett screamed from across the room.

He looked up, noticing he was doing fine with Felix, though Demetri was beginning to overpower Esme. Less than a quarter of a second went by before he had Demetri pinned beneath him, unknowingly causing the ground to crack almost the length of the room as he slammed his body down.

Aro looked up with a hint of grief on his face as the entire place shook from the force. He looked toward Carlisle again and let out a frustrated groan, releasing Michael temporarily to save his best tracker.

Demetri was one of Aro's many prizes and without him, their coven would take a massive blow. Even it meant that Michael would temporarily get away, he knew in comparison that it would be far worse to lose one of his best men.

Alexandra and Michael ran to each other. "I'm sorry," she told him, "Michael, I didn't mean for this to happen."

He pulled her close to him for a second, then looked around at the chaos that was going on around them.

Aro passed Carlisle and Demetri and grabbed Esme, then called out Carlisle's name.

"Go Alex!" Esme cried out, though her voice was muffled as Aro covered her mouth with his hand.

Jane's tiny voice rang through the underground lair, "Pain."

Michael, now, fell to the ground and Alexandra charged at her, turning her fears into anger. Jane grinned as she approached, about to switch her focus, though Bella concentrated hard used her shield to protect both Alexandra and Michael.

When Jane's actions failed, she grunted and went after Bella a second time, only to be thrown to the ground by Alexandra, then Rosalie who moved in to help.

Carlisle stood up and faced Aro, keeping a foot planted at the base of Demetri's neck.

"Release him," Aro warned, holding Esme motionless and unable to move in his grasp. His hand still covered her mouth.

"Don't do this," he said, "Let her go."

"Release him," he repeated more coldly, causing Esme to cry out from the increasing tightness of his grasp.

"I'll kill him right now," Carlisle warned him back, "It doesn't have to be like this, Aro." His voice was calm, but his entire body shook and his arms were tense, eyes black as the night.

"If you kill him then you'll spend the rest of eternity alone," Aro told him.

Carlisle shook his head and glared at him, then took his Esme's eyes. "I won't do anything to him if you let her go right now. I'll release him back to you. There are no other trackers like Demetri in this world. You need him."

"You need her more than I need him."

He clenched his jaw and squeezed his empty fists together, knowing Aro was right.

Sounds of stone on stone echoed throughout the Volturi's lair, as more destruction came from the little battles that were going on throughout the place.

"What's it going to be Carlisle?" Aro asked, "Because I'm becoming impatient and this is going to be quite the mess to clean up."

Esme let out another muffled cry and Carlisle couldn't contain himself anymore. He pushed forcefully off Demetri's chest with his foot and lunged at Aro.


	33. Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures

**Chapter 33**

Aro released Esme, as he and Carlisle wrestled on the ground.

"You're not going to get out of this unscathed," Aro choked out as Carlisle held his face and throat tightly with his hands. Venom began dripping from his mouth as he growled, now fully in an animalistic state that he'd never experienced prior to that moment.

For the first time, Aro was truly scared for his life, and felt fully threatened from his inability to move in Carlisle's hold.

"Demetri!" he choked out.

Demetri got up from the group and flung Carlisle off the leader of their coven, then crouched in attack mode protectively between the two of them again.

Aro lunged for Esme again, now more ruthless than the time before and looked Carlisle in the eye with a menacingly evil smile.

Carlisle looked at Esme helplessly and tried to fight past Demetri, but knew there was virtually no time to stop what the Volturi leader was about to do.

She began to wince as he twisted on her neck and for a second, Carlisle felt his whole world stop around him. His thirst was gone. His anger was gone. No one appeared to be moving and he felt nothing. Masen wasn't there to help. There was nothing that would be done if Aro went through with his plan of action. He felt helpless and meaningless. If he couldn't save Esme, there would be nothing left of whatever soul he had.

"Aro!" a voice called through the walls with an earth shattering urgency.

He stopped and looked as Seth entered the room, slightly annoyed at the interruption.

"It's Lucy!"

Aro's face changed and he loosened his grip on Esme.

"The sun is coming up! She's going to step into the sunlight!"

Every member of the Volturi stopped whatever struggle they were involved in and looked to Aro with concern. His arms went limp and Esme escaped his hold and ran to Carlisle, who held her so tight that he knew he was probably hurting her. It took him a minute to move from the position he held her in and snapped back to reality with a look of concern as his eyes now scanned the room.

Aro was gone. Caius was gone. Felix struggled away from Emmett and left the room. The place where Demetri stood between he and Esme was now vacant and Jane was nowhere to be seen.

Alexandra ran up to her parents and threw her arms around them with Michael just behind her.

"I have to go find Jasper," Edward said, "I've been able to hear his thoughts."

He ran up to everyone for a moment, then grabbed Bella by the hand and left the room.

Rosalie tried to hug Esme, but Carlisle still was yet to let her go.

"Let's get out of here," Emmett said, "Come on."

Carlisle nodded and they all whipped through the halls, leaving the regal Volturi lair in shambles and destruction.

The halls were empty, though the scents of everyone around them were strong.

"Is Jasper alright?" Esme asked.

"Edward said he was," Emmett told them, glancing down at a piece of destroyed furniture as they closed in on the route back up to ground level.

It seemed to take forever, but they finally emerged from the stale air of underground Italy and into the vacant streets as the sun began to rise over the beautiful, ancient city.

"Luciana!" Aro's voice called angrily, "You must step away."

"No," she cried, "If this is what it takes, then no! I will break the laws and you'll have to kill me."

"I will not-"

"You'll have to!" she shouted, "It's the law. It's your law!"

Caius stepped up beside Aro, while the Cullens all watched and Seth stood hopelessly by Aro's side.

"This was all _my_ doing," she continued, not moving from where the sun began to creep, "_ I_ told Alex and Michael to come speak with you. I volunteered to ask for them because I learned from you that it was the noble thing to do."

Seth glanced at Aro from the corner of his eye and took in a deep breath.

"No one would have gone against your wishes, Dad," she continued, "You have this _thing_ about the Cullens. They take care of me. They love me. They don't _lie_ to me."

"I haven't lied, Luciana," Aro started to say, but she began to shout again.

"You _have_ lied. You bring humans in and out of this place. I've seen it. They work for you. Michael and Alex just came to _ask_ because I told them it was safe, because of the things _you_ told me." She began to speak in his accent in an almost mocking manner, "If one is unsure of the law, or what to do, they must run it by me first or they will be treated as fools and disposed of."

Aro looked down, feeling a combination of anger, love and defeat, "Come out of the sunlight. People will be awakening soon."

"No," she refused, shaking her head, "You'll have to kill me, too."

Alexandra noticed that Caius was not affected and closed her eyes, hoping it was a necessity for him to understand what the death of Luciana would potentially mean for their kind. She squeezed Michael's hand as she thought and felt her father's hand tighten on her shoulder.

When she opened her eyes, Caius' eyes squinted and for the first time he seemed to look at Luciana a little differently - not with a compassion, or love, but with a sense of importance.

"How did you let this happen?" Aro asked Marcus.

"Stop blaming Marcus," Luciana said, now looking up toward the sky with her palms slightly raised upward. The sun was beginning to come out in full force.

Carlisle wanted to speak and ask Aro if he would actually kill his own daughter to prove a point, though kept silent and held onto Esme and Alexandra.

"If she dies," Caius spoke, "It will be the demise of us."

Everyone seemed shocked at his input, except for Alexandra as she felt a wave of relief fill her body that her gift could be applied to him.

Aro turned his head to Caius, then reached a hand out for his daughter.

"No," she shook her head.

"Please," he begged, "Luciana..."

"Let my family go," she said coldly.

Aro froze and his face turned grave and somber and his mouth hung open at the sting of her words. From somewhere in the distance, he could hear a human conversation and knew that their time was limited.

"Okay," he agreed, looking at her in the eyes, feeling his own begin to glisten as his chest tightened, "Okay. If you'll come to me now."

"You're lying," she said suspiciously, letting a tear fall from her face.

Aro shook his head and turned to Edward, "Please... tell her."

Edward's hard stare softened and looked at Luciana, "It's true," he assured her, "He's being honest."

Luciana stared at all of them, then back to Edward, "And Caius?"

"He knows that Aro could never kill you himself, in which case he would be responsible for the act. It would divide the Volturi in a way that was irreversible, and therefore would begin a downward spiral in our society. Their weaknesses would be exposed, we would avenge you, and there would be deaths on both sides, making their family even weaker. Vampires everywhere would gradually learn of the news and begin to run amuck."

Caius turned to face Edward, displeased that he was reading so deeply into his thoughts.

"It would end in madness," Edward concluded.

The human voices grew closer and Aro pleaded with his eyes to his daughter before she slowly crept back into the shaded region beneath the tall clock tower. Seth immediately wrapped his arms around her and the two of the began to cry together.

Aro looked on, finally letting a tear fall, though made sure his back was to everyone else.

"We should go back inside," Caius said angrily, though seemed more mad at himself for rationalizing the scenario so well.

Jane sighed and walked in first, disappearing with Alec at her heels first.

Alex pulled Michael to the side and hugged him fiercely before she began to ball into his chest.

"Stay in here until nightfall," Aro instructed quietly as he passed by, "Luciana. Will you please accompany me for a moment?"

She stared at him through saturated eyes, then grabbed Seth by the hand and followed him to a more private setting.

Carlisle had yet to release Esme from his grasp since Aro had let her go and still looked at her with a dazed expression. He pulled her even closer and sighed several times, finally feeling a sense of relief that their nightmare was over was good.

They stood together for awhile, uninterrupted before he pulled her face to his and kissed her as if he was seeing her for the first time. He couldn't bring himself to talk, and it appeared that she couldn't either.

"Mom, Dad..." Alexandra finally broke their moment, and each of them opened an arm to bring her in between them.

Carlisle kissed the top of her head and Esme ran a hand down her face, crying for the first time that day.

"I never thought this was going to happen. I was wrong. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I just wanted Michael to be happy." She sobbed as the words came out and they brought her even closer, before Carlisle whispered, "It's okay," and stepped away to hug Michael.

"I'm sorry," Michael told him, "You could have left me."

Carlisle patted him on the back and shook his head, then pulled away from him, "You're part of our family, Michael."

"Just don't screw up again!" Emmett called, lightening up the situation.

Michael managed a laugh as Emmett cracked a smile before pulling Rosalie into him for a kiss.

Jasper stood next to them with a grin at their affection.

"Where's Alice?" Michael asked.

"Home with Nicole," Jasper told him, "It took a lot of arguing, but I refused to let her come. She needed to be there with our daughter." He looked thoughtful for a moment, "I should probably call her, huh?"

Carlisle lead Michael back to where Alexandra and Esme stood, hugging his daughter again, "We're so glad you're okay. You have no idea what your mom and I, and everyone else for that matter, was feeling when we found out you came here."

"I'm sorry. I hated lying to you."

He hugged her again and looked at Esme as he did, shaking his head then finally letting a smile cross his face.

Alexandra sighed and went back over to Michael, while Carlisle linked hands with Esme and walked over to Edward and Bella.

"Bella," he said, "Thank you for shielding Jane for so long. We wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

She smiled, overly enthused and elated that he thought so highly of her contribution to their safety. Edward smiled wide, knowing exactly what Bella was thinking and kissed her temple.

"I'm glad I could help," she said with a smile.

Carlisle nodded and Esme smiled, pulling the two of them into a hug.

"Thank you, Edward," Carlisle continued, "For taking care of Esme on the way here."

He smiled and the two of them shared a hug.

"Let's hope they don't change their minds before sundown," Edward joked, flashing a smile.

Esme gave him a look and frowned.

"Just kidding." He said, then added with a chuckle, "I hope."


	34. Decompressing

**Chapter 34**

Four days had passed since the Cullen family returned to Forks. There had been several long talks, lots of hugs and affection between family members. Masen and Leah had just returned from their honeymoon, not hearing of the news about the latest conflict until the arrived home.

Esme had taken the time to pay Sue a visit to explain what had happened, and thanked her for giving them the information she had so they were able to make it to Italy in time. Seth, however, didn't benefit from their conversation, and Sue had been tracking every step that he and Luciana took, with Charlie's help. The only time she budged on her punishment was allowing the two of them to go down to the water with the rest of the Cullen family for a few hours, upon Masen and Leah's return.

"You guys should have called me," Masen said, sitting by the fire next to Carlisle. He bounced Cassandra on his lap and squeezed Leah's knee with a smile.

"It all happened too fast," Carlisle told him, removing his hands from the relaxed position behind his head to put one around Esme, "Everything seems like a big blur."

Masen turned and looked at Alexandra, shaking his head.

She sighed, "I... I don't know."

"I hope you trust what we tell you now," Carlisle told her, then looked to Luciana, "And I don't mean to speak ill of your father, Luciana. I know you're in a very difficult position."

"And what you did was extremely brave, Lucy," Esme said, "You saved us."

Luciana smiled shyly and looked down, "It's not easy being in the middle. I love him, but... I can't say the same for his lifestyle choices."

Carlisle would typically defend Aro's position, as he is doing what he can to keep the vampire race in check, though the thought of him harming Esme prevented him from saying anything positive about the Volturi leader.

Alexandra and Michael tried to enjoy the fire, though each of the looked heavily guilty still about putting their family's lives in danger.

"Hey," Alice said to them from across the way, "Cheer up. Stop being mopey."

Emmett tossed a stick that bounced off Michael's shin and ricocheted to hit Alexandra's calf. Both of them forced a smile.

"I don't think I ever want to see the inside of that place again," Jasper commented, looking over at Alice who sat with Nicole next to him.

"That was worse than I pictured," Emmett said, "Though I do enjoy beating up Felix."

Rosalie smirked, then snickered and he smiled.

"You made your dad cuss," Emmett told Alexandra, looking at her with his eyebrows raised, holding a smile.

His facial expression and taunting made her smile, but she looked over at her father, who was shaking his head.

"It's true," Emmett said, "Esme, have you ever heard him say words like..." He stopped and smiled before repeating them.

Esme turned to Carlisle and smiled, as he still shook his head and smirked when she felt her staring at him.

"I never formally apologized to you either," Seth said, looking at the two of them.

"It's okay, Seth," Esme nodded.

"I dragged him into it," Luciana told them.

Jacob and Renesme walked in from the distance with campfire food and plopped down beside Edward and Bella.

"I still have a lot of teaching to do when it comes to Seth," Jacob said, looking at him with a smile. He took a big bite of a burger he'd been eating on the way over.

Renesme kissed both of her parents on the cheek, "Thanks for helping me paint the living room today."

"You're welcome," Bella told her with a smile.

"You missed a few spots," Jacob joked with his mouth full and winked.

Edward snickered and pulled Bella to him a little closer.

Carlisle let out a loud sigh and hadn't realized how loud it was until everyone was looking at him. "Just soaking it all in," he explained.

"Is it too late to take a jet ski out?" Alexandra asked Jacob.

He looked up at the dying daylight and shrugged, "We can do whatever we want."

Carlisle looked over at his daughter.

"Well," Jacob rephrased himself, noticing Carlisle's expression, "_We_ can." He referred to himself and Renesme, then looked at Edward who was about to disagree, but didn't say anything.

"You have to earn your trust back little lady," Emmett told her, tossing another stick in their direction.

Masen and Leah were whispering to each other and she pointed out toward the water. "We'll go with them," he offered, "I've never been on one."

"We won't let them out of our sight," Leah promised, looking toward Alexandra and Michael, and sounding very motherly herself.

Esme looked at Carlisle, then back to their kids. She knew Alexandra had learned a life lesson that hard way - the very hard way, and suspected she wouldn't be doing anything out of the ordinary any time soon.

Carlisle looked to Edward, who gave an approving nod.

"Don't even think about leaving Masen's sight," Esme said, then looked at Carlisle to make sure he was on the same page.

He hesitated, still staring at them, "If you go past the tall cliff over there-"

"We won't," she said with a smile.

"If you do, there will be consequences." Carlisle looked to Masen, "For both of you. I don't care if you don't live with us anymore."

"I'm the responsible one," Masen said, looking at his sister.

Normally, Alexandra would have rolled her eyes at her brother, but she didn't have it in her to be confrontational and instead walked over and gave him a hug.

"Buttering me up," he said to Leah with a smile.

"Hey, Leah," Bella said, "I'll, uh, watch Cassie if you want to go with them."

She looked at Masen and he nodded with a smile.

"We just got back to her babe," she said with a shrug.

"Yeah babe," Emmett mocked.

"Shut up," Leah said with a laugh.

"We'll be out there for fifteen minutes," Masen said, "That's all."

She weighed the options then turned to Bella with Cassandra in her arms, "Alright. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Bella smiled and brought the child down between herself and Edward.

"Fifteen minutes," Leah said to Masen.

The four of them left the fire and headed toward the water.

"Big brother on her heels, huh, Carlisle," Emmett said, "Good plan."

He smiled and nodded, "Now I'm going to have to be wondering a million things while I'm at work."

Rosalie shook her head, "We'll keep an eye out for ya."

"And I think they all learned a lot from what just happened," Edward said, "I don't think they really had a grasp on what The Volturi were capable of." He turned briefly to look at Luciana, forgetting sometimes that she was on both sides of the equation.

"I think it was definitely a learning experience," Jasper agreed, "I don't think there will be any more... issues."

"I'm still going to keep a close eye on her," Carlisle said, looking at Esme, "And if it's not me, then someone will."

Seth's phone went off and he answered it, "Hi, Mom. Okay, sure. I love you, too." He hung up after the brief conversation and stood up, helping Luciana to her feet, "I'm on a type of house arrest, so we have to go."

Jacob chuckled, "Don't do stupid things, Seth, and you won't have to deal with that."

Seth mumbled under his breath, then said goodbyes to everyone as he and Luciana headed home.

"We're going to see William and Maddy," Rosalie said, also standing up to leave with Emmett.

"Tell them thanks for looking after Charlie," Bella said.

"We will," Emmett assured her with a smile.

"Be back in a bit," Rosalie told them.

They waved goodbye and headed out into the darkness.

Alice looked at Bella, who began to play a little game with Cassandra to make her snicker and smile. "Do you two want another one?"

Edward looked up at his sister with a closed mouth smile. Bella turned to him, "We've talked about it."

"Yay!" Alice clapped her hands.

"We're not sure exactly when," Edward added, "But some time."

"Some time," Bella agreed, looking at him as they shared a smile.

"How about you?" Jasper asked Carlisle and Esme.

They looked at each other and then laughed, "After what just happened," Esme said, "I don't know. Apparently two are a handful."

"Yeah," Carlisle agreed, stretching his legs out in front of him. He looked at Esme and laughed again, "I don't think for awhile."

"In time?" Esme asked him.

He nodded and grabbed her hand, "In time."

"Jacob? Nessy?" Alice asked last.

"No," they both said at the same time, then laughed together.

"Later on," Renesme said, "I want kids so bad... but not right now."

"Ten years, remember?" Edward said with a snicker.

"I don't know about ten," she looked at Jacob, "But I think like five would be a good... guess."

"Five's cool," Jacob said, "We need _our_ time for awhile first."

Renesme nodded and gave him a quick smooch on the lips.

"Get the marshmallows," Jacob said to her, smiling wide.

"Do you ever stop eating?" she asked with a laugh, handing him the bag.

"Oh, you know me well enough to know that answer," he told her, "You want a s'more?"

"Sure," Renesme said, cuddling herself against him.

Bella and Edward smiled, glad to see their daughter so happy with Jacob.

Fifteen minutes went by and the two jet ski's returned. Masen and Leah walked slowly behind Alexandra and Michael, who jogged up toward the rest of them.

"Exactly fifteen minutes," Alice said, looking at her watch, "Not bad."

Alexandra laughed and Michael smiled before they sat back down near Carlisle and Esme.

Masen and Leah took their seats by the fire and Cassandra clawed for her parents, leaving Bella giggling as she handed their daughter back to her rightful owners. A little over an hour went by before they all decided to call it quits and head back to the house.

Jacob poured a bucket of water over the fire, leaving everyone in darkness, before they made their way home.

"Glad you're alright... again," Masen said to his parents, then to Alexandra, "I can't believe you didn't call me."

"Like your father said, it all happened too fast," Esme told him, pinching his cheek before giving him a hug and kiss. She did the same to Cassandra in Leah's arms, then gave Leah a long hug, "I hope you enjoyed your time down there."

"We did," she smiled, "It was hard to leave, but it's good to be home."

They said their final farewells before making their way home, with Jacob and Renesme heading in the same direction.

Carlisle put a hand on the side of Esme's face for a moment and kissed her once before allowing her inside ahead of him.

Alice and Jasper had already begun to make themselves comfortable, sitting practically on top of each other on one of the couches with Nicole playing a laughing game with Jasper from the floor.

Alexandra and Michael slowly made their way in to join them, passing Carlisle and Esme. A slow smile spread over Alexandra's face as she walked by them, before leaning into Carlisle for a hug.

He smiled and looked at Esme, "Trying to butter me up?"

She snickered, though didn't let go of him, "No." Her eyes met Esme's and she smiled again, though took in a serious deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Carlisle waited a moment before he responded, "I hope you at least learned something from what just happened."

Alexandra sighed, "I did."

He kissed the top of her head, "I love you, Alex. I don't know what we'd do if something happened to you."

"I love you, too."

Michael slunk into the empty couch near Alice and Jasper. Alexandra separated herself from Carlisle and gave Esme a quick hug before made her way into the living room to join Michael.

Carlisle looked at them for a moment before he turned to Esme, subtly linking his fingers with hers.

Esme smiled at him and the grateful, love struck look on his face pulled on her heart. Since they had returned home, he looked at her in that way and it never failed to leave her wanting to throw her arms around him and smother him with affection. She pulled him in tightly for a hug before she kissed him on the cheek.

"Come on," she said, pulling him up the stairs, glancing down at everyone in the living room as they left.


	35. Forever

**hey all! sorry I didn't have anyone die in the fight scene.. I didn't have it in me to end on a sad note ( I wanted it to work out for Carlisle & Esme) .. i'm thinking this story may be the final one of the series ( I don't want people to get bored w/ the universe) :) any and all input is welcome! thanks a lot for following the story.. if I don't end up continuing with this universe, I will be writing more Carlisle/Esme fanfiction! any and all thoughts about this story, or any of them I've written are OVERLY welcome!**

* * *

**Chapter 35**

Carlisle sat in his office reading through some thing he had written down in the past. Next to his records was a photo album of when Masen was a child that eventually lead to pictures of Alexandra. He kept the record book open, though pushed it to the side to continue flipping through the images of his children.

Esme gave a little knock at the door, dressed in a pair of comfortable shorts and a tank top with her hair thrown up in a messy bun from the shower she had just taken.

He smiled as she walked toward him and motioned for her to join him on his side of the desk.

"It's not always fair for them," Esme said, glancing down at the page he had open, "They don't get the time that everyone else has to develop. It's so rushed."

Carlisle sat back in the chair and leaned a shoulder into her.

"Am I a good mother?" she asked him quietly.

He turned his head upward in her direction with a confused look, "What?"

"I'm serious."

Carlisle smiled, "Esme... of course. Why are you even asking that?"

She shrugged and continued to eye a photo of both Masen and Alexandra, "I don't know. I mean, I should have walked them into the airport and went to the gate with them. And Masen and Leah's situation worked out alright, but I feel like I should have done something more for them."

"Esme," he said again, standing up, "You've done fine. They're fine. Like you've said, they don't really have that developmental time that everyone has. I suppose we all take it for granted. To go from zero to twenty in the matter of a year, it's not an easy thing, on their end or ours. It's difficult to try to cram twenty years of knowledge into somebody that fast."

"I just want them to be safe," Esme told him, "And happy... I suppose they're happy, but I want them to truly know what's out there and consequences that could come of their actions before things happen, not after."

Carlisle put one hand on the back of her neck and began to gently massage from there down to their shoulders, "They still have a lot to learn, and I know that lately it has been the hard way. Unfortunately, sometimes that is the only way to truly understand. We can only inform them so much before they go on and make their own decisions. We can do our best to steer them in the right direction, but it's impossible to watch them every second."

Esme nodded, "I know. I just want to do the best we possibly can."

"You've done everything right," he assured her, "You're the perfect mother, Esme. Don't think otherwise."

His words made her smile and she looked over at him, then leaned in and gave him a kiss.

Alice appeared in the doorway, "The paint is probably dry on the far wall," she said, looking at Carlisle, "So, it's ready when you are."

Esme looked confused and Alice gave a little wave before disappearing back to the living room. "What was that about?"

He grabbed her hand, "Come with me."

Her smile met his and she let him lead her out of the house and down a little path in the woods she had never realized was there.

"Alice and I just cleared it out," Carlisle told her, almost reading her thoughts, "The path wasn't here before."

Esme didn't ask any questions, and didn't really have time. It was less than a mile through the trees before a small, brick building came into view.

"What's this?" she asked with a smile.

Carlisle pointed to the door, "Go inside." He motioned for her to enter ahead of him and she pulled open the big wooden door that lead them into a wide open room with an old time blackboard, desks, bookshelves and a pleather of other educational and academic items. The walls were painted with friendly light pastels and it had a very welcoming atmosphere.

Esme scanned the room with her eyes and a smile crept over her face, then she looked at Carlisle.

"I overheard you talking with Alice and Rosalie about wanting to start giving kids a more formal education," he explained, "All of our kids now, Nicole, Cassandra and any we might have, or anyone might have, in the future."

She couldn't do anything but smile, and let out an appreciative laugh as she ran her hands over the tops of a few of the desks, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe this."

"I approached Alice after your conversation and she thought this was a great idea. She did a lot of the designing and picked out the colors."

Esme looked at him, "I don't even know what to say."

"Come here," he lead her toward a bookshelf, "Alice printed a bunch of the things I recorded during my years, she made books out of them. Billy also let us have his that he's in the process of writing. We've called it 'Part 1" because he hasn't quite finished everything. I've been wanting to show you his. It's pretty amazing."

He reached for a copy of Billy's book and put it down on top of one of the desks in the back, then flipped open the front cover. The two of the began going through it together, page by page. Carlisle found himself just as fascinated as he had been the first time he read through it.

"This is wonderful," Esme told him, smiling.

"I know teaching was a passion of yours," he told her, "Now, you can teach our kids about _our_ history. Maybe that will contribute to preventing things from happening like in the past week."

Esme looked around at the place again, "I cannot believe you did this. I don't even know what to say."

"Are you up for it?" Carlisle asked with a smile, "Teaching them?"

She smiled, "This is... yes, of course. Really?"

He nodded.

Esme pulled him to her and gave him a series of kisses until he started to laugh in between them, then brushed her hair away from her face.

"You like it, then?" he asked.

"I love it," she told him, "I really, really love it."

Carlisle brought his lips back to hers and closed his eyes as he felt her wrap her arms around his neck. He kept his eyes shut and his nose against hers, "I love you so much Esme."

She kissed him again before replying, "I love you, too."

He continued their momentary embrace before Esme snickered and pushed him back as she felt him get deeper into the moment.

Carlisle let out a laugh and looked down, before meeting her eye level again, "Sorry."

Esme smiled, "If we do this in here, it's all I'll be able to think about."

"I wasn't trying to-" he started, still smiling.

"I know," she told him, kissing him once more, then couldn't help but chuckle again.

"Well, up until the last ten seconds I wasn't trying to..."

Esme laughed and couldn't find it in her to completely separate herself from the loose hold he had around her waist. She sighed, "This is so great Carlisle."

"Alice did a lot of the work inside," he told her.

"I'll have to thank her when we go back."

He nodded and sighed, moving himself back a few inches from her, "Should we try sending Alex to high school? And Michael possibly too? They could go there during the day and come here for a few hours afterwards."

"Do you think Michael's ready?" Esme asked him, "I just want to be sure, you know. Like we did with Jasper."

Carlisle thought for a minute, then nodded and began to run his hand along one of the book covers, "I believe so. He hasn't had any mishaps. He's been around Charlie quite a bit and the Quileutes. I think he'll be okay, but we can wait it out a little to be safe."

She shrugged, "I mean, I don't see any reason to postpone it. He's been fine."

"Yeah," he nodded, "We'll have to sit down and have a long talk about it; see what the others think."

Esme nodded in return and leaned in to kiss him once more, "If I wasn't absolutely paranoid about going any further away from Alexandra than this, I would suggest we go watch the sunrise later."

Carlisle smiled at her, "We can go just before. Take just an hour or so."

"I'm back in my crazy phase," Esme told him, "You're lucky because the focus is on her now."

He laughed, "Well... there will be plenty of sunrises."

She nodded and looked out the window at the moon that provided a little glow over Forks. Carlisle followed her eyes, "No eclipses coming up."

"Nope," Esme said, shaking her head, "I think everyone is on the same page right now. No more kids for at least a little while."

"We have Nicole and Cassandra to spoil a little," he told her, making his way behind her at the window.

"I can actually be a real grandma and get Cassandra ice cream and junk food when we babysit her," Esme told him.

Carlisle smiled and put his chin on her shoulder, "So could this possibly be happily ever after? No more chaos. No more visits to the Volturi. No more random groups of vampires trying to destroy us."

The easiness of his voice made Esme smile, "I hope this is the start of a nice, calm streak."

"Me too." He kissed her shoulder, then made his way up to where he could kiss her lips.

Esme sighed, "Why don't we go check on the kids, then take a bubble bath."

Carlisle pulled back, then kissed her once more, "That sounds like a good start to our calm streak." He held out his hand, "Let's go home."

Esme took his hand before cuddling against his body as he brought close to him and kissed her temple. They took their time walking back in each other's arms, looking forward to what remained of forever.


	36. The End

**hey all. again, thank you for following my stories. I could write all of these characters forever. If you can take a minute to either leave a review or send a personal message to me, I'd like to know if you would prefer me to continue the series, or end this series here. That would be awesome!**

**Thanks again for following/commenting and giving me feedback!**


	37. Next Story - Shadows of Midnight

Well, I decided I'm having too much fun writing, and since others have given me some confidence about writing another story, I've chosen to continue with it. The fifth story in the series is called **Shadows of Midnight.**

www dot fanfiction dot net/s/9481671/1/

You could also probably click on my name and find it in there.


End file.
